MLB: Is Alex Rodriguez Worthy Of The Hall Of Fame?
Now that the final ballot for the 2022 MLB Hall of Fame has been announced, voters have just a couple of months to decide who the next class to make it to Cooperstown. Alex Rodriguez makes his first appearance on the ballot in 2022. Looking back on his career, does A-Rod deserve baseball’s most prestigious honor?
That’s one of the toughest questions to answer because there are so many layers to examine. Many fans and analysts alike will point to the steroid era as a black eye for the MLB as well as plenty of players. Rodriguez was linked to performance-enhancing drugs and that will be the deciding factor for most. If all-time greats like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa aren’t getting in because of PEDs, then neither is A-Rod.
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But take steroids out of the equation and there’s still plenty to debate against him. If you look at statistics, and statistics alone, Alex Rodriguez would be a Hall of Famer all day. He was one of the better power hitters in baseball. He finished just shy of 700 home runs at 696, landing him at 4th place all-time. According to Sports Illustrated, he finished his career 8th in runs scored, 20th in hits, 3rd in RBIs, 6th in total bases, but 5th in strikeouts.
Now compare statistically Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Bonds finished 1st in HRs, 37th in hits, 1st by a long shot in base-on-balls, 5th in RBIs 61st in strikeouts. While A-Rod has the upper hand in a few categories, you have to wonder how many opportunities Bonds had wasted by intentional walks and pitch-arounds. More often than A-Rod, Barry Bonds wasn’t seeing pitches worth taking a hack at and struck out less. Between his power and ability to get on base, Bonds was in a better position to help his team score points, and he’s down to his last shot.
Then, of course, there’s his Hall of Fame teammate, Derek Jeter who, despite being his teammate, would always be his competition. From the moment he put on the pinstripes Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were mentioned in the same sentence more often than they should. Jeter was a Yankees icon while A-Rod was one of the MLB’s best power hitters. Despite both playing shortstop, the two were polar opposites. Jeter didn’t have the power but made up for it with clutch hitting. Rodriguez was a bomber who could change the game with one swing of the bat.
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Not only will his career be overshadowed by PEDs, but the pressure of being a Yankee showed up on game day as well. While Jeter was Mr. Clutch for the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez would struggle to find footing in that role. Blow up his stat sheet and a lot of big hits came when they were down multiple runs. Yankees fans to this day have to remember when they’d be down 6 or 7 runs and A-Rod would jack a solo shot but would wave at air during his biggest moments. While their latest World Series title might have not been possible without the play of #13, too often his big moments came when it was too late to matter.
However, putting stats aside, there are two defining moments in Alex Rodriguez’s career that sway his MLB Hall of Fame vote. The first came in the 2004 ALCS where after hitting a slow roller towards first, after a clean field by Bronson Arroyo, Rodriguez would slap the ball out of his glove to avoid the tag out. The second was the infamous “I got it” in 2007 where, upon rounding the bases after a routine popup, A-Rod would yell as he passed 3rd base causing confusion and the ball to go uncaught. He’d go on to proclaim he only yelled “ha”, neither of which is very sportsman-like. Looking back on his career, there were plenty of moments that got under the skin of both players and coaches alike.
That was his whole career in a nutshell. Alex Rodriguez was one of the more talented players in the history of the MLB. However, he was always trying to get an edge over the competition, but never in a manner that respected the game. Even without the steroid scandal, A-Rod had a history of disrespect for the game of baseball. His arrogance and demeanor during his career spoke just as loud as his PED use.
Alex Rodriguez was without a doubt one of the most talented hitters in all of baseball, but his actions as a whole show he’s not worthy of the MLB Hall of Fame honor.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
