Joe Rutland looks at the drama behind Rodriguez and how a mentor could have helped him navigate his life and career with more honesty and grace.
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Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez could really use a mentor in his life. Some man that will look this multi-millionaire baseball player in the eyes and tell him how life works, about manners, about courtesy, about speaking from the truest and honest part of his being, about … well, being a man.
Yet I don’t think Rodriguez has ever had a mentor. Oh, he’s had baseball coaches teach him the fundamentals of the game. I think, though, he missed class when those coaches were talking about how to maneuver through life.
Does this sound familiar to any men, or even women, reading this piece? Who couldn’t use a mentor, a guiding voice of reason?
But let me not get ahead of myself. Rodriguez, the New York Yankee third baseman, received a 162-game suspension from arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on Saturday, reducing a 211-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball in August 2013.
When last August’s ruling came down, Rodriguez immediately appealed and kept on playing. This all stems from Rodriguez’s involvement with Biogenesis, a Florida-based company that allegedly was a source of performance-enhancing drugs for MLB players and other pro athletes. According to an article from ESPN’s Wallace Matthews, “The testimony of Anthony Bosch, the clinic’s proprietor, was a key element in baseball’s case against Rodriguez, as were copies of the records, which baseball paid in excess of $125,000 to obtain.” Bosch, along with MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred, were scheduled to appear on a segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday night, according to Matthews’ article. Biogenesis was a major player in helping professional athletes heal faster from injuries and get bigger, stronger, and faster.
More may be revealed when Rodriguez takes this ruling to a federal court. Um, you see, Rodriguez didn’t like the decision and he’s going to do something about it … in a federal court?
Good luck there, pal.
Rodriguez is acting like someone who does not have to face consequences for his actions. Yes, he’s got a team of lawyers and supporters to protect him.
After the arbitrator’s ruling was announced on a rather quiet Saturday morning, Rodriguez issued another statement that continued his string of denials about everything. It also continued his pattern of blaming everyone else about his current situation.
Rodriguez is saying “I didn’t do anything wrong.” His actions, though, are saying “I can get away with anything. I have the money. I have the people that support me. I am telling the truth.”
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Where’s the mentor? Where was the mentor in Alex’s life before he started down the road of using and abusing PEDs and steroids? Rodriguez was a truly gifted, talented, New York-born 18-year-old player who was drafted as a first-round pick by the Seattle Mariners in 1993 and started his major-league career in 1994. He then signed a hefty free agent contract with the Texas Rangers in 2001. Then he was traded to the Yankees, who took on his big contract and hoped he would be their leader … a team leader on and off the field.
It has not worked out.
Rodriguez’s body is physically breaking down, and he’s not been 100 percent healthy for the past few seasons. The Yankees are paying a lot of money for a part-time third baseman.
Let the record show that Rodriguez has 654 career home runs and 2,939 hits as a shortstop and third baseman, and is a three-time American League Most Valuable Player Award winner.
Alex has enough of everything in life that a person could want. He’s got it all. Yet what about integrity and honesty? Couldn’t a mentor help him ease out this tough road that he’s paved for himself?
When Rodriguez was at MLB’s New York offices for a hearing on Nov. 20, 2013, the minute Horowitz ruled that Commissioner Bud Selig did not need to appear in person at the hearing and testify, Rodriguez reportedly slammed the table, allegedly looked at Horowitz and Manfred, called the hearing “fucking bullshit,” and stormed out.
Then Alex went over to WFAN Radio in New York for an unscheduled interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesca. At the time in November, Francesca’s show was simulcast on the YES Network so there’s video evidence of this interview. (Inside scoop: Rodriguez doesn’t like the media, OK.) Rodriguez spent a whole segment talking about his side of the story and how much he’s being mistreated by Selig and MLB.
Today, Rodriguez continues to act like a whirling dervish, totally out of control emotionally and allegedly without any single person in his world taking him aside, sitting him down and calmly … yes, calmly … offering him drama-less advice.
A mentor could help Alex understand how to act in public, relate to other people, have compassion and understanding for those who are not as fortunate as him. A mentor could reach Alex’s heart and tell him that what he is doing to himself is not healthy. A mentor could take Alex away from “Team Alex” and let the Florida sea breeze blow through his brain. A mentor could support Alex learning who Alex, the human being, is and let go of the persona that everyone is tired of … especially Major League Baseball and, more than that, its fans. Plus, a mentor could show real-life examples, from business to athletics, where mentors have played key roles in others’ successes.
Rodriguez continues to stand for what he believes in, which is his truth that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his baseball career. When directly asked by Francesca if he had ever used PEDs, Rodriguez said “No.” It was not under oath, but he did answer the question. Personally, I wish Rodriguez had called another sports talk radio host who would have asked him harder questions. Someone like, say, Dino Costa.
Maybe what Rodriguez needs, besides a kick in the ass and a hug, is a real mentor.
It’s never too late. What’s the old saying? “When the student is ready, then the teacher will appear.”
Getting a mentor might be the best, and wisest, choice you’ve ever made, Alex.
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Photo: AP
Why to people say he’s in denial or out of control? Whatever he was doing was working for 20 years, with no real repercussions until now. We can hardly criticize him for being out of touch with reality when he continued to be one of the highest paid players ever. We can’t say he’s oblivious to the real consequences when he never had to face real consequences before. If he’s out of touch with reality, it’s only the reality of the past few seasons. His approach to life is now failing him, but it worked pretty damn well for two… Read more »
Love the article Joe. Dead on.
Fantastic piece, Joe. You are right, our actions have consequences. Our lives mean something, whether we break through the noise with the meaning we intend or we lie and cause it to be otherwise. We have to learn these lessons from someone. Everyone needs honest, quality advice to be our best. A-Rod missed that, and now instead of being a lifetime achievement hero and hall of famer, he’s a public disgrace. Instead of being everything he’s nothing. It’s a terrible shame brought on by hubris. Maybe he can make it up by being the lesson he should have learned, but… Read more »