Why can’t we all love Alex Rodriguez?
I feel sorry for A-Rod. I really do. Even when I travelled 3,000 miles to see him and his New York Yankees against the Rays last year and joined in the lusty booing of the third baseman my heart wasn’t in it. Or at least it shouldn’t have been. I was wrong. Sorry Alex.
You see I didn’t put myself in his position. But then again to be fair neither did the Yankees. He has to look to his left every night in the field (or will do following his four to six week knee surgery layoff) and see The Captain, Derek Jeter; the beloved, the chosen one – a true Yankee.
Let us all be honest. Jeter may have the 3,000 hits, the rings, the All-Star accolades, but he is not even close to being the best shortstop on his team. That man wears number 13 and bats two to three places down the order. That’s right, our unsung hero Alex Rodriguez.
Take a look at the resumes. Weigh the scales yourself.
Rodriguez: .302 avg, 955 OPS, 626 HR, 5191 TB, 1,883 RBI, 365 SB
Jeter: .313 avg, 832 OPS, 237 HR, 4320 TB, 1159 RBI, 331 SB
So the slugger has more stolen bases than the lead off guy (and 700 RBI). And he has nearly three times as many home runs and 800 total bases.
But what about the defense?
Rodriguez: 2 Gold Gloves
Jeter: 5 Gold Gloves
Rodriguez has not played his natural position, shortstop, for six and a half seasons. Intangibles?
Rodriguez: 14 All Stars, 10 Silver Sluggers, 2 Golden Gloves and 3 (yes THREE) AL MVPs
Jeter: 12 All Stars, 4 Silver Sluggers, 5 Golden Gloves, no league MVPs
Again, we have a winner in Rodriguez. Or rather we don’t.
Jeter has five World Series Championships at the core of three incarnations of Yankee teams (and World series MVP). Rodriguez has one Word Series championship and wasn’t named as MVP in that series.
Let’s put aside the steroids issue. We’ll have to if we want to talk in twenty years about sluggers. As Jeter, a true Yankee, basks in his 3,000 hit glory, we see the love of the Yankees fans for one of their own. A-Rod could dive into the stands every night and he’ll never, ever get the credit he deserves as the great player he is. He’s an act in the Yankee circus and Jeter remains the ringmaster.
Content courtesy of 7Saint9
