Miller homered twice off Masahiro Tanaka, driving in four runs in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 8-4 loss Saturday to the New York Yankees. Manager Joe Girardi let him play third base for one at-bat before subbing him out to a raucous ovation from the crowd. But owner Hal Steinbrenner told him on August 3 the end was at hand, and Rodriguez said last Sunday he had accepted an offer to play one final home game and then become a team adviser through 2017, tasked with mentoring young players. He will finish the year with nine homers and 31 RBI’s and if his career is over, he will finish with 696 homers.
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I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised last night when a dark and very menacing cloud appeared over the bleachers prior to the pregame ceremony honoring Alex Rodriguez career with the New York Yankees. “It’s the last time I drive up Broadway through Harlem, the neighborhoods that have brought so much comfort to me”.
“With all my screw ups and how badly I acted, the fact that I’m walking out the door and Hal wants me as part of the family, that’s hitting 800 home runs”, Rodriguez said.
This past week Major League Baseball said goodbye to Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder, and I know there are some fans that would prefer good riddance.
NY started a pair of players making their big league debuts for the first time since center fielder Jim Lyttle and catcher John Ellis against the California Angels on May 17, 1969. “Let’s go do the same thing”, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters, referencing players such as Rivera (652 saves, most in history), Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams that were among the honorees Saturday.
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. The 41-year-old designated hitter isn’t sure whether he will play again.
Rodriguez’s 2,086 RBIs are second to Hank Aaron’s 2,297.
Nor should we have been surprised when the Stadium crowd greeted Rodriguez with what I would term polite applause that was not neither extended or thunderous.
Brad Miller cut the Yankees lead to 6-4 launching his second homer of the game in the top of the sixth but once again it was the long ball that pushed the lead to a comfortable margin for NY.
Rodriguez also got a special treat in the top of the ninth inning.
“That not for me to say”, Rodriguez said.
See everyone in Miami for the A-Rod Unretirement Press Conference in March 2017! “I was, ‘Oh, man, I’ve just got to make contact now, ‘” said Aaron Judge, about to hit in the big leagues for the first time.
He has not said he is retiring.
Rodriguez needs four more homers to become the fourth player to hit 700.
All week, Girardi and Rodriguez found themselves in a position where there seemed to be no right way to get to that promised finale, where the circumstances of Rodriguez’s freakish departure conspired to keep him from a happy ending.
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“I was too nervous to be even think about going to talk to anybody”, Austin said.
