“You always think you have one more hit and can help the team win one more game”, he said. We all want to play forever.
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“Of course I think I can play baseball”.
But apparently, the Yankees had other plans for Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez. By him announcing his retirement, he is putting a close to a roller coaster 22-year career that had many ups and downs. “I love this game and I love this team”, an emotional Rodriguez, known as A-Rod, told a Yankee Stadium press conference. Entering Sunday, Rodriguez was hitting.204 on the season – his exact average from his rookie season, in 1994, when he was a 19-year-old shortstop with the Seattle Mariners who got just 54 at-bats and did not hit a single homer.
It was announced last night that the Alex Rodriguez will be holding a press conference this morning to make a major announcement. I love this game and I love this team. “I know he said today he doesn’t want to coach and I couldn’t see that happening”.
The Yankees signed Rodriguez, known as A-Rod, to a 10-year, $275 million contract that runs through 2017.
It’s unclear if A-Rod is really retiring from baseball for good, though, speculates Harvey Araton at The New York Times.
Rodriguez said the decision to retire wasn’t forced on him by Steinbrenner – though occasionally his comments suggested he felt compelled to accept the owner’s offer.
However, the athlete affectionately known as A-Rod will remain part of the organisation until 2017, staying on as a special adviser and instructor. “Saying goodbye is part of the job”.
Rodriguez is a three-time American League MVP (2003, 2005, 2007) and 14-time All-Star (1996-98, 2000-08, 2010-11). “It’s been very painful and embarrassing to be on the bench”. “I thought I would have a strong finish and a stronger year next year, but again, that wasn’t in the cards”.
Today, the New York Yankees designated hitter is in the ninth year of a $275 million contract.
But Rodriguez’s gaudy stats were tarnished in the eyes of many by his admission in 2013 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.
In a statement, Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said the slugger will mentor the next generation of New York Yankees. On May 4, the Yankees placed him on the 15-day disabled list due to a right hamstring strain. Rodriguez knew the end was coming, telling reporters recently that even though he was parked at 696 career home runs, he was “one of the luckiest human beings on the planet” and “at peace” no matter what happened next.
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Obviously Rodriguez’s career will always be remembered with human Growth Hormone scandals, suspensions and a hard falling out with the Yankees, but that is still in conjunction with three MVP awards (including two in New York), consistency as the plate during his prime and of course, a World Series title in 2009.
