The Yankees announced Sunday that the third baseman/designated hitter will play his final game with NY on Friday at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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Manager Joe Girardi said he’d discuss with Rodriguez how much he’d play during the three-game road trip to Boston that begins Tuesday. “I love this game and I love this team”, he said, often pausing or choking up. “This is also a proud day”.
“To me, it was one of the biggest pieces of advice I’ve ever had”.
Over two decades, A-Rod has been paid about $410,000,000 to play baseball, according to data collected by Spotrac, a research service that tracks sports contracts. “I do want to be remembered as some who’s madly in love with baseball”. “But that’s what I’m doing today”.
“No athlete’s career ends the way you want it to”, Rodriguez said as he read from a prepared statement.
The team’s decision to emphasize prospect development signals the end of an era for the Yankees, who have held one of the most aggressive win-now approaches in baseball for the better part of two decades. And today I’m saying goodbye to both. Statistically speaking, Rodriguez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he may never get in because he was suspended a then-record full season in 2014 for performance-enhancing drug use.
The news comes after Rodriguez, 41, told ESPN earlier this year that he would be retiring after the 2017 season. “We have an exciting group of talented young players at every level of our system”. Upon returning from suspension, he surprised the baseball world, reviving his career in 2015 by hitting 33 home runs.
“He’s a tireless worker and an astute student of the game”.
“That doesn’t come along to this franchise trophy’s case without Alex’s contributions”, Cashman said.
He will play his final game on Friday, August 12, and sign a new contract to work with the club running through the 2017 season.
A-Rod opted out of the contract after the 2007 season, became a free agent and signed the $275 million deal with the Yankees. He was criticized by fans for a perceived inability to hit in clutch situations and his lackluster performance during the Yankees postseason appearances in 2005, ’06 and ’07, despite winning the American League MVP award in 2005 and ’07.
“He’s exceptional on the baseball end, in terms of the teaching and evaluating side of it”.
In his remarks Sunday, Rodriguez said he’s “been to hell and back”. On Sunday, he referred to his time on the bench as ’embarrassing’. “It’s been awkward”, Rodriguez explained.
Relegated to little more than a spare part lately, the three-time AL MVP said “the last four weeks have not been fun”. He is second in baseball history with 2,084 runs batted in (trailing only Aaron’s 2,297), eighth with 2,021 runs scored and 19th with 3,114 hits. If it wasn’t for the numbers he had during the 2009 World Series run, then the Yankees probably don’t make it to the World Series.
“A lot’s happened the last 72 hours, ” Rodriguez said. He also told him he wasn’t there to hurt him, that he’d get all of the $27 million or so due him.
“I have not thought beyond the pinstripes”, he said.
“Thank you for your support”.
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Cashman, who spoke after Rodriguez at the press conference, said “I don’t think it was a forced situation”.
