Designated hitter Alex Rodriguez played his final game with the club Friday, and the Yankees have officially released him. They will sign him to a new contract that will keep him in the organization through 2017 as a special instructor and advisor, as Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). However, the 41-year-old Rodriguez hasn’t closed the door on resuming his playing career at some point.
Notably, Rodriguez will continue to count against the luxury-tax threshold as he collects the $26.5MM that he has left on the 10-year contract he signed with the Yankees in 2007. That deal, a then-record-setting $275MM accord, was set to run through next season. Rodriguez secured the contract after opting out of his previously record-setting pact (10 years, $252MM) that he signed with the Rangers before the 2001 campaign.
Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who was instrumental in keeping Rodriguez in pinstripes in 2007, issued a statement praising the 22-year veteran:
“After spending several days discussing this plan with Alex, I am pleased that he will remain a part of our organization moving forward and transition into a role in which I know he can flourish. We have an exciting group of talented young players at every level of our system. Our job as an organization is to utilize every resource possible to allow them to reach their potential, and I expect Alex to directly contribute to their growth and success. Baseball runs through his blood. He’s a tireless worker and an astute student of the game. Alex has already proven to be a willing and effective mentor to many players who have come through our clubhouse, and I am confident that this next phase of his baseball life will bring out the best in Alex and the next generation of Yankees.”
The news of Rodriguez’s departure from the Yankees’ roster isn’t particularly shocking after they scheduled a Sunday morning press conference that would feature some sort of announcement regarding his future. Speculation then abounded that the team would either cut Rodriguez or he’d retire. It turns out both could be true.
“We had no choice here, given the performance,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of releasing the declining Rodriguez, who now looks primed to walk away from playing a sport he has been a prominent part of since the Mariners selected him first overall in the 1993 draft.
For his part, Rodriguez commented, “I love this game. I love this team. Today I’m saying goodbye to both.”
If this is the end of Rodriguez’s playing career, he’ll go down as one of the most productive performers in baseball history. Since debuting in 1994 as an 18-year-old phenom, he has combined to hit .295/.380/.550 with 696 home runs, the fourth-highest total ever, in 12,000-plus plate appearances. He’s also 13th among position players in fWAR (113.0) and has collected 3,114 hits – which ranks 19th all-time – a record 25 grand slams, 14 All-Star appearances and three MVPs. Further, Rodriguez made a significant impact for the Yankees’ latest World Series-winning club, slashing a jaw-dropping .365/.500/.808 with six homers in 52 at-bats during the team’s run to a championship in 2009.
Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004 after they famously acquired him from the Rangers in exchange for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and prospect Joaquin Arias. New York beat out hated Boston for Rodriguez’s services, further fueling what was then a red-hot rivalry. To that point, Rodriguez had been an excellent defensive shortstop, but he agreed to move to third base with the Yankees because of Derek Jeter’s presence. Like Jeter, Rodriguez is now one of the most accomplished Yankees ever, as he’s eighth among the franchise’s position players in rWAR (54.4) and sixth in home runs (351).
“I want to be remembered as someone who tripped and fell a lot, but kept getting up,” added Rodriguez, whose Hall of Fame-worthy career achievements are tainted in the eyes of many who follow the game.
Rodriguez is a central figure when it comes to steroids’ ties to baseball, having admitted in 2009 to using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 as a member of the Rangers. He also sat out the entire 2014 season as a result of a 162-game suspension the league handed him for his role in the Biogenesis scandal. That ban was originally for 211 games, but an appeal knocked 49 contests off it. At the time it disciplined Rodriguez, the league accused him of using and possessing “numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years.” It also alleged that he attempted “to cover up his violations” and engaged “in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation.”
On the heels of his ignominious suspension, Rodriguez returned to playing last year and improbably hit .250/.356/.466 with 33 homers in 620 trips to the plate. That proved to be a dead cat bounce season, however, as Rodriguez has batted a disappointing .204/.252/.356 in 234 PAs in 2016. With the Yankees unlikely to qualify for the playoffs and now building toward the future, they have phased Rodriguez out of their lineup this year, having given him just one at-bat in August. He’s now the second franchise linchpin whose playing career with the Yankees is on the cusp of ending, joining first baseman Mark Teixeira – who announced earlier this week that he intends to retire after the season.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first to report that the Yankees would release Rodriguez (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
RIP in peace.
Rest in peace in peace?
RIP rest in peace in peace
Maybe he meant RISP.
1
When you write RIP you don’t need to add ‘ in Peace’s after RIP smh lol
Memes man
Must not use Reddit or even know what it is. Lol
Lucky him.
It’s like when people say PIN number
Have you ever used an atm machine
RIP in pepperonis
LOL
Rest in RIP
I’ve never seen a better player and I saw Mays, Mantle, Aaron and Musial. Greatest SS in MLB history…..by far.
What….. Your deaf, dumb and blind….. Mays was the greatest all around player ever…… Get a pulse
Smh head
I was really hoping they were gonna extend him
I was guessing five years, $185 million…
That’s a lowball offer if I’ve ever seen one.
Decent way out?
So does that mean that he forfeits the remainder of his salary, will the Yankees space it out like a Bobby Bonilla type situation, or will he just make that spread out over some more time as a special assistant?
nevermind- I re-read the article. My bad
I read it and still can not understand. Why would he get his money after this?
He’s being released before retiring. A released player is entitled to his entire contract since baseball contracts are fully guaranteed. He likely wouldn’t have retired had the Yankees not agreed to release him beforehand
That sucks wanted to see 700…
Well, he still has til Friday. But lack of steroids will make it difficult…
Couldn’t he roid up for one last run at 700?
Well…um…ok then
Its a pity he didnt get into the 700 HR club.
All the best A-Rod
No, it’s not.
I’m sure Yankees’ fans would have loved to see him pass Babe Ruth.
Actually, as a Yankee fan, totally the opposite.
I thought they were going to announce he was signing a 5 year extension…….I am bummed!
Just as the new wave of baseball charges in, all of the last generation is on its way out
It feels really sudden idk
I’m both Sad and Excited
Lets not forget this guy pissed all over the integrity of the game and start washing his balls just because he is retiring.
Let’s also not forget that 1999 Arod is arguably the best all around player the game has ever seen. Long before he pissed on your feelings
Lets not forget he cheated his way to that so called high standing you claim him to have.
Yeah. Let’s also not forget that all the old timers in the HOF have spotless track records. Oh wait…
why is there forty 50 home run seasons from 1920-1985
then forty 50 home run seasons from 1990-2005 [including a bunch of 60+ and 70+ home run seasons]
I’ll let you in on a secret, they were cheating.
I’ll let you in on a secret, it wasn’t just A-Rod and it didn’t just start in 1990. Many of your favorite players were cheaters, you just don’t know it.
The pitchers were cheating just as much, bud.
I don’t agree that it is cheating when it was basically allowed. Sure it was on the banned list but they didn’t test for it.
Technology, that’s and easy answer. The bats are better, the balls are wound tighter and travel farther. Do you notice the also use new balls every time the ball hits the dirt? Pretty easy to answer that one.
He cheated his way to being the best player in 1999 with the PED’s he used between 2001 and 2003?
Hank Aaron is in the HOF and took illegal things to gain an advantage.
Why is it ok for Hank to be in the hall, but not ARod?
Hank’s autobiography…page 268 “I was so frustrated that at one point I tried using a pep pill-a greenie-that one of my teamates gave me. When that thing took hold, I thought I was having a heart attack. It was a stupid thing to do”
You have other proof? Please share.
You’re taking his autobiography as the gospel truth?
I looked up gullible in the dictionary and I saw your picture.
Because Aaron was a class act and AROD is an ***hole?
I will ask again…do you have other proof…just give me one. Just one. C’mon, you are so certain…one will not be hard if you are so certain.
Let’s also not forget…..wait…what were we talking about? 😀
his entire career is tainted. numbers are irrelevant.
Nor should we forget that Bud Selig allies like Tony LaRussa denied suspecting anything and got into the Hall of Fame ahead of any of the PED policy violators shooting up in their midst.
So did most of the other stars from that generation. Get over it.
Good! It is about damn time!
Maybe he can show the next generation of Yankees how to best cover up.
The Yankees are unconditionally releasing A-Rod after Friday’s game, so I would think that means that the team is still on the hook for his remaining salary. BUT with his new role as a special instructor/advisor, they may have come to a deal on how/when that money would be distributed. If they defer some/most of that money, will that “count” toward helping them get under the luxury tax threshold next season, or will A-Rod’s full 2017 salary still be “on the books”?
Been wondering that myself. If they don’t spend much in the FA market, they may not even come close to reaching the tax threshold. Several high contracts off the books. Plus with the CBA expiring, there’s s good chance that amount may increase
Dislike. A-Rod should play until he gets into the 700 club. He is 4 HR away.
I’d be willing to put $100 down on A-Rod going 0-everything from right now through Thursday and then going 4-4 with 4HRs on Friday
Cashman said he will only play on Friday
Well he still is gonna hit 4 homers on Friday because of the retirement gods
Go straight to the broadcast booth…..and collect $200.
The Yankees should have released ARod outright. Why offer that despicable clown any saving grace when ARod so clearly disregarded the integrity of the game throughout his career? ARod deserves no acclaim in limping away from the game of baseball. Good riddance.
Let’s see….. Pay him 26 mil and never see him, or pay him and get some use out of him? Seems like an easy business decision to me.
Alex will teach the younger players his 3 R’s……Rest, Reps and ROIDS!
Knowing how much Girardi hates him, he probably won’t play till Friday.
Does Girardi really hate him? I mean it seems plausible but how do you know?
Yankees got a bit over $100M in value from Alex Rodriguez for his 10 year $275M k. That k alone should be enough to get any employee for any organization on earth terminated (GM or not). That doesn’t even take into account the damage Rodriguez did to the image and integrity of the Yankee franchise and MLB. One fact is indisputable, Alex Rodriguez did irreparable damage to the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball. The timing of this action and Rodriguez’s “impending milestone” is not a coincidence.
You can’t say Alex did irreparable damage to the Yankees, MLB sure. Those honours of damaging the NYY belong to Hal and Hank, the clowns that signed him.
Well said
It was George who signed this deal not Hank and Hal.
That second contract had more to do with ownership than the GM, though, didn’t it?
Yes.
So Arod is the only one that damaged the image and the integrity of the New York Yankees? Think again! I’m sure you know there’s a hand full of big names that have used roids if not more!!!
It isn’t just the use of PED’s that make so many dislike him or that was damaging it was everything.
His fake, weepy 2009 confesion (“Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era,” A-Rod said. “I’m guilty for a lot of things. I’m guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.” Does anyone believe he didn’t know what he was taking?), his refusal to admit when caught and accept the 50 games, his threats of lawsuits, his refusal to testify under oath (until he was grated immunity by the Feds), lecturing to kids about how bad PED’s are, signing pledges with them while he was cheating, and on and on.
He was the one who said “When you take this gorilla and this monkey off your back, you realize that honesty is the only way, I’m finally beginning to grow up. I’m pretty tired of being stupid and selfish, you know, about myself.” That was right before, what his lawyer described as a world wide hunt for the best in nutritional suppliments, a hunt that lead to a store front with no signage in a FL stip mall.
That is the kind of thing that is as damaging as using, if not more so.
Sounds like the sappy, weeping, cry baby confession that Chris Colabello gave.
Oh, read the whole interview available online…it’s all sickening. My favorite actually came from Tom Waits when told that Alex said he only used with the Rangers…he said…”I feel personally betrayed. I feel deceived by Alex, He assured me that he had far too much respect for his own body to ever do that to himself. … I certainly don’t believe that if he’s now admitting that he started using when he came to the Texas Rangers, why should I believe that it didn’t start before he came to the Texas Rangers?”
He won’t even get 700 homers lol
How many more does he have to get for it to be considered close?
Yeah because 696 makes him just an awful player considering only 3 others have reached that number. But he didn’t make it to some arbitrary number. That is funny.
Ah Arod… the next time any of us have to give a damn about you is when we argue whether or not you deserved the 40% vote you’ll get on your first HOF ballot.
I’ll take the under on that number
Funny from a Boston fan. I bet you don’t have a problem riding the Ortiz HOF train.
I think it’ll be a more interesting wager to see if A-Rod even makes it passed the minimum required votes. It’s no coincidence that he’s been trying to clean up his image. Regardless of what you’ve accomplished, if they don’t vote for you you aren’t getting in and, frankly, A-Rod doesn’t exactly have the greatest image
No Hall of Fame for ARod. No way. The admission of only using PEDs from 2001-2003 cannot possibly be believed. Long time cheater, I’d bet from high school. No integrity. No Hall of Fame.
Some say they would like to see A-Rod hang around till he hits the 700 HR club….i say BS, he wouldn’t even be this close if he’d stayed clean and laid off the performance enhancing drugs. He’s a spoiled, narcissistic, jackass and the game will be both purer and better on his departure. Don’t let the door hit you in the arse on the way out either Alex.
How do you know how close he would be without PEDs? A-Rod’s talent did not come from a pill or a shot. If it did, everyone would be taking that pill or shot. For all of his accomplishments and the money he made in his career I know I would. and you are a liar if you say you wouldn’t. PEDs do not manufacture great ballplayers..
I feel like Daniel after the Dentist…. Is this real life??
Yes, everyone would be Taking that shot or that pill. It was called the Steroid Era for a reason. PEDs make good ball players HOF players.
How many players were caught using PEDs that never amounted to anything. There has to be underlying talent to begin with. If not there would be hundreds of users on the verge of the 700 club. It is called the steroid era because so many people were caught using steroids, not because there are now an abundance of users on HOF ballots
Exactly, couldn’t have said it better myself.
If it did nothing for him he wouldn’t have been taking them. You don’t know how much it helped him either. It could have added an extra 5 or 500 home runs. There is no way to quantify it. What we both know is the Hall Of Fame ballot says: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. Based on his lying about and then admitting PED use it is obvious he was lacking in integrity.
Being ABLE to hit a ball is largely a psychological process, which would in my opinion remain unaffected by PED’s.
Advisor on what PEDs to take and what not to take?
Arod: the guy who I’ll always remember as being the reason that caused my dad to cancel his lifelong season tickets after he pissed all over the Rangers. Then after the Arod steroid incident my dad has all but quit watching baseball. His selfish actions made baseball lose someone who had been a lifelong
…fan. My dad will still go to a game if I invite him, but that’s about it. So good riddance to Arod.
Your dad is a lifelong fan of baseball and quit over the actions of 1 player? Over react much?
Actually he doesn’t over react much. I’d be surprised if my dad was wasn’t the only fan that Arod drove from the game. Old schoolers such as my dad, believe in pride, integrity, team, and doing things the right way. When you see a prima Donna dog his teammates and get paid a quarter of a billion dollars due to cheating you can’t blame him for being disgusted.
Dads a tard. Check back in on beltre and the rangers. I’d watch a sport if only for beltre.
The rangers pissed all over themselves. That was a train wreck of a decision with a pathetic team.
Rub some dirt on your dad’s feelings, it’ll be fine.
If your dad doesn’t know , jose canseco was doping so were several other rangers at that time also……and he didn’t start doping till he got to that clubhouse (rangers) so i anything the rangers organization is responsible for him being a judgmental non baseball fan . Let he without sin cast the first stone…….Alex is and was a hof player he is just past his prime now .
Cool comment directed to a 70 year old. Keep making your dad proud.
Juan Gonzalez
Pudge Rodriguez
Rafael Palmeiro
Andres Galarraga
Lance Berkman
Juan Gonzalez
Vladimir Guerrero
Josh Hamilton
Sammy Sosa
Alfonso Soriano
as well, If I had to guess
Pride. Life the rest of your life with a chip on your shoulder. Carry that anger with you. Judgement, analysis from the bleachers. The conclusion: Regret. Cancel those season tickets. Dig in deeper, never back down. You better agree with me. Hate with me. Hate is love.
My B, I re posted Juan Gonzalez
“SEE YA!”
My guess is that he signs with the Rays next season to get to 700.
Lol, there is absolutely no way in hell the Rays would ever sign A-roid.
The Rays did sign Canseco; so you can never rule it out, especially, when he lives here in Tampa.
i think it’s a pretty safe bet to rule it out.
I dont think you can rule anything out with A Roid. Hes’s always been about himself and that’s never gonna change.
He will play again guaranteed you it. His pride alone in trying to brake the home run record won’t allow him to stop.
Basically the Yankees forced A-Roid to retire by telling him they was no longer gonna play him. So instead of sitting around looking dumb they both chose this route to go about it instead.
And manny lmao
Disgusting what the Yankees did. Arod should have been released and forgotten about. I love the guy but whatever disdain he receives he did it to himself.
Jeter lives in Tampa Alex lives in Miami
Canseco was the previous regime however..the current one did sign Manny. I’m no A-rod fan but the thought of him playing for the Rays hitting #700 at Yankee Stadium with the Yankees paying his salary…I’m all in!
It’s not like they are going to loose there fan base… wait, they have fans that show up to the park?
I’d bet his consulting contract with the Yankees prohibits him from signing with another team next year.
Ok, ARod is supposed to be a special instructor and advisor for the Yankess through 2017. Then ARod says that following Friday’s game he will be saying goodbye to the game and team he loves. Does not sound like he will be doing much advising or instructing if he says goodbye ………… Title and no job duties…… Sounds like a government job for relatives of an elected official!!
Still makes me mad that Alex got punished (rightly so), but Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrerra both interfered with both of their investigations. Braun got a guy fired, and Melky made a fake website. Total witch hunt by Selig, the commissioner who turned a blind eye to PED’s until his final year.
Both Braun and Melky have been suspended. Melky has been suspended Twice actually – One for the PED test and one for Biogenesis.
Melky got suspended one time. Once!
I stand corrected
I’m pretty sure that I was the only Yankee fan that was booing A-Rod at the stadium during the 2015 wild card game. Yankee fans were WAY too quick to forgive him for how he cheated baseball, and cheated his way to millions of dollars. He cheated the game that I love, and I don’t understand how anyone can forgive him for that. Good riddance.
Brandon… Exactly! A true fan that sees through the farce that is A-FRod!! To me he’ll never be a true hallowed Yankee uttered in the same breath as Jeter, DiMaggio, Ruth, Mantle and all the true Yankee greats in Monument Park! A-FRod is the Lance Armstrong of baseball trying everything he can to cover it up including bullying those that told the truth. Then when he did confess he only did so when back into a corner. And even then he told a partial truth of his use! SMH!
Pretty sure the Yankees didn’t beat out Boston for his services. If I recall correctly, the players union had an issue with him eating contract money to play for Boston or something similar and said no, so he went to the yankees. I still remember the pictures of him holding up a Red Sox jersey.
Looking back though, thats probably one of the best things that could have happened with the whole whirlwind of crap that surrounded him afterwards.
He had the potential to becomes the #1 of all time on his own, and he blew it by tainting his legacy just to MAKE sure he was #1. Its kind of sad really.
The story being spun by the Yankees and A-Rod here that A-Rod can leave with his head held up high, that he can politely move out of the way for the sake of the ball club and have a bright, strongly positive net impact on the team by transitioning into a coaching role is trash. If A-Rod wanted to actually do something for the team and try to shed some of his baggage as a self-absorbed and self-interested narcissist, he would retire without salary. Clearly he and the front office discussed the terms of his departure and he flat out refused to help the team in this capacity, opting instead to continue to collect his fat paycheck in return for practically nothing. There is no redemption story here, just more A-Rod being A-Rod.
Yeah that’s what I pretty much got out of the whole thing. This guy’s head has always been so big, and that’s not going to change. They want to put on an act that makes it seem like he’s still a great guy after all of the crap he pulled throughout the years, but it really just ends up being more ridiculous. Have fun with your money and legacy A-rod.
Something tells me that someone in the NYY organization has been watching Andrew Freidman.
Brian Wilson
Carl Crawford
Yasiel Puig
Rip old yankees 🙁 2008-2016
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?”
Wouldn’t you need to have had one in the first place in order to lose it?
I hope he does stay retired. He doesnt deserve to brake records of players who did it clean.
See what happens when you no longer use roids to get by!!
Yeah like that clean Barry Bonds, A Rod sure shouldn’t “brake” that record.
Everyone knows Bonds wasn’t clean.
I said clean players “Einstein” what didnt you comprehend about clean?
You think anyone who knows baseball takes Bonds home run record seriously? .. NO!!..
I think everyone does. It IS the home run record, whether you accept it or not is completely immaterial. MLB accepts it and it is the official record.
BTW, learn how to use quotation marks. Einstein as an insult is not supposed to be in quotes.
Why would you not take bonds seriously? Did he not have the talent? He just took a pill and magically hit HR after HR, that’s why we all hit 756 also. Peds Enhance but people act like it makes a HS kid a HOF. The different is minimal. Have you taken creatine or any supplements? Look at the stuff that is banned by the olympics; you can loose a gold medal over cough medicine. Obviously baseball isn’t that strick but don’t disregard everything the guy did. Everyone did it, and he was still at the top.
And why so aggressive. Jeez man.
No one cried for Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero, Clemens, etc… no reason to cry for A-Rod either. Nice to see the Yankees use him one more time to sell out his last game. Final opportunity to knock his butt to the sand. Wonder if any of his team would back him in a beanball brawl.
Please stop throwing stones. Anyone here who hasn’t cheated on his or hers
Girlfriend/Boyfriend
Wife/husband
taxes
Tests in school
Took a shortcut
Or something important and lived a perfect existence please rant. Otherwise STF
Everyone does it, very few admit it. It’s just like lying. People are only upset because their cheating and lying in life hasn’t made them as successful as A Rod.
Unfortunately im not like those you speak of ive never cheated to get by period. I don’t go through life lying to myself. I don’t need no one to tell me what im doing wrong. Because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if i did. I am true to myself. I wish everyone could do the same. But If you lie to yourself that’s your problem. But don’t include everyone else like you know what people do.
What kind of clowns are ya’ll? Get a job at the circus it suits ya’ll..Lmao
Sure seems like you cheated yourself in terms of reading comprehension (not to mention grammar as well) because you obviously didn’t catch what he said in the second to last line of his post.
This.
If you never cheated in English class, I have no idea how you passed. You’re either lying, or you received a subpar education.
Whoa dude, that’s pretty mean.
That’s really mean but funny
Why would it be unfortunate that you aren’t like those he spake of?
So I can rant according to you since I never did those things and your admission suggests you have.
Not with a bang but with a whimper. He’s an old player with limited skills and limited popularity. In the time before multi-year contracts–PEDS or not–he would have be dropped, period. He’s certainly a historic figure, for good and bad reasons.
Is he gonna specially advise the team on who to buy from, what to buy, when to use, and how to get someone else’s urine and pass it as your own?
Yeah, not sure what Bonds, McGwire, and now Rodriguez have any business doing in baseball at this point, other than to tell kids cheat your tail off and you will be rewarded by the org.
I don’t think kids need anyone to tell them that. They can learn just by watching any adults in daily life. Cheating and lying is the American way. Have you looked at our legal system or politicians recently? One of our current Presidential candidates cheated the draft system and seems to be proud of it. Have you looked at marital infidelity numbers recently? Cheating on your spouse is becoming the national pastime. Have you looked at fraud cases? People are constantly getting bilked in this country. Why do people expect baseball players to be better than the general population?
I think you forgot to mention the other candidate whose whole platform and career is riddled with deceit, scandal, and lies. But please please please leave politics out of this baseball thread because she has done enough damage to the country we don’t need to be arguing on here how bad she is.
You’re the one that went to say “she” it was a general statement before. You have to agree with the general sentiment being presented. It is far from farcical and truly undeniable.
I love it when people making a political statement claim to want you to leave politics out of it.
No he will refer those prospects to big pimple and handy manny.
The article makes it sound like his salary will still count towards the Yankees luxury tax number for next season? How can that be if they’re releasing him and he’s working in the front office next year?
Because in baseball if you release someone you are still on the hook for their salary. Notice he is not ‘retiring’ which would likely remove that final paycheck, but instead moving him into the front office.
Wouldn’t it be funny if they had him doing stuff like sharpening pencils, filing and responding to fan emails…. He would get his own stapler like that guy in office space
It would take a move by the player to forfeit the salary, like LaRoche did with Chicago, or Guzman did with KC. This was the Yankees making a move, as Rodriguez does not have the self respect required to walk away on one’s own terms. The coaching job is just the Yankees way of saying since we are paying, you will dance. It’s probably in return for not finding a reason to not pay his last year, thru litigation.
Beat it A-rod. Thanks first nothing.
The 696 home run club is just as exclusive as the 700 home run club. He has nothing to quibble about. The Yanks gave him every chance to produce this year..
Larry Bowa said he was the hardest working player he ever saw, and that was when Alex was at the top.. I’m not an A-Rod fan, but he is the best player we probably ever saw, even better than my favorite player of the last 30 years, Junior Griffey.
I was hoping the announcement would be that he was “finally” traded to Boston, where he once almost played. The Sox would give up Ryan Hannigan and Clay Buchholz.
That seems like too much :). How about just Hanigan and you pay us the contract in full plus 40 mil for doing you a favor. Everyone knows Red Sox get better when they go to the Yanks if they’re not named Jacoby Ellsbury, so Hanigan would instantly bat .290 for the rest of the year anyways…
“Dead cat bounce” season? I’ve never heard of this phrase. Am I the only one who had to read that analogy multiple times?
A colorful but descriptive old school saying, suggesting that any height a cat achieves on the rebound from a fall is much less spectacular when one realizes the cat was dead to begin with and said cat’s corpse just bounced whatever height one may have assumed the cat would have jumped had it still been alive.
HGH is a hell of a drug..no down side to it…mmmmm yummy
Not really looking forward to him being a network analyst.
Man, could you imagine if someone like Hank Aaron or Willie Mays had consumed PEDs….oh wait…hold on a sec. Never mind.
How dare you question the greats
(sarcasm)
Just my opinion. This guy represents baseball as much as someone represents the country by burning an American flag … He has pissed on baseball just by coming back to the game.
What exactly do you mean by ‘coming back to the game’?
Up until now, he’s never actually left.
He was gone for a year. Just not willingly. As this is so out of character for him, I wonder if he got caught again, and this is just how MLB is covering up to prevent another black eye. (A-Rod walks away. They don’t announce it)
Lets not forget that steroids weren’t against the rules in the MLB until 2003… So the word “cheating” doesnt really apply. Feel how you want about the era but technically they didnt do anything wrong and regardless of profession, an edge is an edge and if its not a violation then its not cheating.
Using drugs illegally is something that shouldn’t have to be in the rules. I would like to think they don’t need a “rule” against murder, kidnapping, or parking in the handicap zone. If it’s against the law, it should obviously be against the rules.
You may want to rephrase that. There wasn’t testing, much of that due to Donald Fehr’s refusal to even allow it to be negotiated (until congress forced him) but they were banned by Fay Vincent in June 1991. In part his directive stated……. ” In addition to any discipline this office may impose, a club may also take action under applicable provisions of and special covenants to the uniform player’s contract. This prohibition applies to all illegal drugs and controlled substances, including steroids or prescription drugs for which the individual in possession of the drug does not have a prescription.”
arod is one of the few mlb players that I really dislike. I don’t buy anything he says anymore because of how many times he’s lied. it’s ridiculous. I couldn’t even watch his whole speec at his press conference because it sounded fake, even though i know it’s not. It’s just that I’m so used to him sounding so fake because of all of his lies. Imagine his career if he didn’t do steroids, would’ve been great without the drama. what a waste of talent.
They all lied. Braun was the worst as he had a kid fired after accusing him of being anti Semite. Big pimple lied and continues to lie. Yes I think arod is fake and he has lied but he’s also come clean which is more than I can say for allot of the other cheats like big pimple and bonds.
I heard some commentators today say that eventually most of the PED users (including Arod) will get into the Hall and be generally accepted… I actually think the opposite is true. The only reason some people still defend these guys is because they have an emotional attachment to them, which is totally understandable. They were the best players of our time, and to some it can feel strange to discredit their achievements.
However, if this many people dislike Arod now, will the next generation of baseball fans really accept him and his records? Most current players are adamantly against any PEDs, and that generation will likely guide the commentary (and Hall voting) for years to come.
It’s like your said about the next generation. There’s a movement to push Pete Rose into the HoF.
Of course, that hasn’t happened. But at the same token, iit wouldn’t surprise me if, let’s say Pete Rose enters the HoF posthumously.
Would that soften the public’s mind about other cheaters?
Really doesn’t matter if he doesn’t hit 700 home runs he will never be in hall of fame.pete rose would make it first.
Bonds > Arod
Special advisor on what? How to dope up?
LOL, blab blab bla bla bla blab blab blab, LOL.
No he just can refer the prospects to manny or big pimple to help him with that.
I don’t care if he used steroids and HGH. Lots of players have cheated.
Fact is A Rod is a smug, indignant, unlikable chhunt minus the two h’s.
Bye.
Nobody cares.
I know he will be considered a cheater in the eyes of many, but I was actually looking forward to see AROD attempt to beat Barry Bonds HR record.
Babe Ruth set his records while using a performance inhibitor, alcohol. Wonder what a sober Ruth could have accomplished.
Why is A-Rod seen as such a villain ,meanwhile there is a guy up in Boston who was done in Minnesota . He was picked up off the scrap heap . Then later was one of the players who was on the same list as A-Rod . Is now on a “retirement tour” being showered with gift by teams that he cheated against. SMH. Big Sloppy gets off the hook. A-Rod unfortunately is treated differently although they committed the same crime. SMH again.
Agree
As a Yankee fan I can be honest and say I’m happy Arod is going. I was not an Arod fan, I root for my team and he was difficult to root for. In fact I venture to say most Yankee fans would agree if you went on the many blogs it seems like the overall consensus is this decision worked for all parties and we can move towards the future and bring up some younger kids from our farm. But I also have many red sox fans as friends and the funny thing is that they are extremely forgetful when it comes to there teams history with great players using steroids, in fact the entire Mitchell report didn’t have one red sox player on it as Mitchell himself had involvement with the team. Of course there were a few Yankees, Mets, and other players listed on it. But then Handy Manny arguably the greatest RH bat of this generation fails numerous steroid tests and from rumors I hear he was using as far back as when he was on the Indians and throughout his Red Sox career. Big Pimple also finds his name on a list of failed tests , but many Red Sox fans will say the list is nonsense and it was a witch hunt. Im curious to see at the conclusion of this year what the comments on here will be when Big Pimple retires! I can only imagine they will be a majority positive with sunshine and rainbows regarding his great Sox career. But the smart bet is we all knew he was a user based on his name being on a list and factoring in his career projectories. Im just curious, will fans be bashing Big Pimple as hard as Arod is getting destroyed when a thread is created for him.
Everyone knew Manny was using, but Manny wasn’t really hate able. He always managed to endear himself to fans, so much that people were able to look past it. That’s not the way it should be, but it was. I think Papi used in ’03 and then stopped. It’s not ok, but he hasn’t used since I don’t think. Also, it’s not like these guys repeatedly got caught and then went back and lied on national television about it multiple times. I mean, Manny did, but Manny did it because there’s not a lot going on up in his head. A-Rod seems like he’s a very in control, calculated kind of guy.
Yes, but no club will. Many suspect that he will work out this winter with the goal of getting a spring training invite.
Oops. Posted under the wrong comment.
Maybe i am reading this wrong. They are going to release him so they owe him the remainder of his contract and then hire him as something or other paying him more money not to play? Why the pomp and circumstance just release him.
He lost me with the dramatic drink of water before he even started talking. Such a drama queen. I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth and I’m glad he’s gone.
Yup.
When they release him Friday, can another team claim him? That might be kind of comical…
Will an opposing pitcher throw him a cookie on Friday for a possible going out
with a bang ?
Most over paid player in sport….. Yankees are a joke….. A-Rod was a cheat and a liar….. He should have been thrown out of the game years ago…..
so says the giant fan who wears a barry bonds jersey!
Lol. Was just about to say that.
You’re such a drama queen… Cut the crap, stop acting as if whatever he did affected your life… Besides, i bet you worship Bonds…
So will he be selling peanuts or frozen lemonades?
Good…… The great cheater is gone……
On the one hand, AROD’s numbers are staggering. He accumulated 48.3 WAR just for the Yankees from 2004 onwards. That’s a substantial career for most players. Soriano went on to do 18.1 WAR in the same time frame–so the 3/1 salary difference was actually justified. AROD was actually worth the money–he delivered the wins every year he was supposed to deliver. He really was that good. On the other hand, no player since Barry Bonds has left us with such a mixed legacy of amazing talent mixed with dishonest methods of getting into the record books. There is just no way of knowing how much was AROD, and how much was GENISYS, just as we now don’t know what was Barry Bonds and what was the Clear. And because of that, an entire generation of would be Hall of Famers are far from in the Clear. It is a shame. Babe Ruth, who still is in the World Series and Baseball record books as both a Pitcher AND as a Home Run hitter (he has the 5th or 6th lowest World Series career ERA AND the highest series Slugging Average in a World Series), his only additive being hot dogs, must be laughing at all of this. Because the only real supplement you need in sports is to love the game.