“It was so awesome”, Rodriguez said.
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But Girardi stood by his decisions from earlier in the week, as the Yankees have now won three straight and remain 3 ½ back for the second wild card.
In a 4-for-47 funk, Rodriguez started for just the third time in 19 games, the 2,784th and perhaps final regular-season appearance in a career that started with Seattle in 1994, moved on to Texas in 2001 and then NY three years later.
Recently, I did an article on should Alex be in the Hall of Fame and I said he should be in, eventually.
“But I have a huge heart”. I wanted it to be something. “It was really hard telling him he wasn’t DH-ing”. Not only did A-Rod get his wish but Girardi displayed a welcoming attitude in the process.
That understated agenda didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the 46,459 fans, who packed the stadium to celebrate Rodriguez’s 22-year career, with little regard, at this point, for his past PED transgressions.
“I haven’t played a lot of baseball lately”.
The suddenly dark clouds that gathered overhead, the thunder that boomed and the rain that fell voluminously during the rushed pregame ceremony all seemed ominously – or appropriately – convenient as the Yankees said their forced goodbye to Alex Rodriguez on Friday night.
He was given the option – and said yes – to becoming special adviser which starts next spring training. He extended it Friday night with a sixth-inning single against Winston-Salem – that tied him for the longest hitting streak by a catcher, set by Harry Chozen in the Southern Association in 1954.
“Retirement is synonymous with old”, he said. “I didn’t know what to expect tonight”.
“I still think I can do some work, but I am not there right now. Those are the things I’m going to miss”.
With Alex Rodriguez now off the Yankees, the team has reportedly called up Tyler Austin from Triple-A to take the vacant spot on the 25-man roster.
The evening began with a thunderstorm that descended upon the Bronx just as a ceremony commemorating A-Rod’s years was about to begin.
The ceremony began with a short video tribute of his career highlights as Reggie Jackson, Mariano Rivera, owner Hal Steinbrenner and his mother and daughters joined him on the field.
His tenure is marked by the 2009 World Series title, as well as a lengthy suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
“I can’t think of anyone else where this has kind of happened, where you’ve announced on a Sunday that a guy was going to be released on Friday”, Girardi said.
Castro, one of Rodriguez’s prodigies this summer, did much of the damage with a home run and four RBIs. He has two homers since June 3, leaving his career total at 696. The Yankees owe him $27 million as part of his $275 million, 10-year contract, which runs through next season.
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Ten minutes later, the clouds started to clear, symbolic of A-Rod’s time in NY, and a rainbow came out shortly before the first pitch.
