He is also a 14 time All-Star, 3 time MVP, 2 time Gold Glove victor, 16 in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), 12,198 plate appearances which are most among active players, 10,557 at- bats which are also most among active players, and has one World Series ring with the 2009 Yankees.
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Alex Rodriguez announces retirement from New York Yankees.
This is a tough day.
Demand for an otherwise nondescript battle of the also-ran Bombers and Tampa Bay Rays on Friday shot through the roof after A-Rod announced Sunday he would hang it up after Friday’s game. NY will pay him the remainder of the approximately $27 million he’s still owed as part of his $275 million, 10-year contract.
Rodriguez probably could have played out the season on the Yankees bench if the club did not decide unilaterally to release him sooner.
“The last four weeks have not been any fun. It’s been painful and embarrassing and awkward”, Rodriguez said.
“We’re always interested in exploring the possibility with anyone who can make positive contributions to our baseball coverage”, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told Sporting News in a statement. “Of course, I think I can play baseball”. Me and my brother were at the Yankees-Red Sox game in Fenway Park and I remember watching him hit a home run over the Green Monster. “That wasn’t in the cards”. In his new role, he will report to team owner Hal Steinbrenner. He will then leave the team, going home to his family in Miami, and expects to assume his new duties in spring training.
Sean Core, a marketing manager from Astoria, Queens, said baseball players are expected to set an example. “He’s been a leader and a mentor”. However, it was entirely possible that Gardner was letting his emotions do the talking, especially since he wouldn’t see Rodriguez in the clubhouse starting on Saturday morning.
In June the Sporting News ranked him the third-most hated player in recent baseball history.
“Sad the way its all gone done”, Gardner said when asked how he felt during Rodriguez’s press conference. After the game, the 41-year-old Rodriguez will be released from his player contract and become a special adviser and instructor with the Yankees through December 31, 2017. The part-time DH hasn’t even played against left-handed starters, pinch-hit or been in the lineup against pitchers he’s previously done well against – leaving him without much of a role. Nor did Rodriguez actually rule out a comeback in a few months, saying, “my horizon is Friday”. “I want to give out my steroids to players like grocery stores give out free samples to customers” he said. “But it doesn’t work that way”.
Alex Rodriguez became the second member of the New York Yankees to retire in the space of 48 hours. “I love this game and I love this team and today I say goodbye to both”, Rodriguez said.
NY traded relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman at the trade deadline last month to shore up and greatly improve its farm system, effectively stating a postseason run was all but unrealistic.
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Rodriguez has 696 home runs and trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the career list. A-Rod is owed $21 million by the Yankees this year, but since the season isn’t finished yet, he’s likely earned about $14.3 million so far.
