Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
A week and a half ago I wrote an article in which I stated that New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez doesn’t deserve to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.
Not only do I stand by that belief, but I also feel that Rodriguez’s career should be over — immediately.
Such a claim comes following Saturday’s bombshell announcement that on Monday A-Rod will have to decide whether he wants to accept a 200-plus game suspension and sit out the remainder of this season and the entire 2014 season or likely fail in trying to appeal the suspension and be given a lifetime ban.
Yet the 38-year-old is still determined to return to the Yankees this season, telling USA TODAY Sports in July that he’s “getting a little more gray, and starting to lose my hair. But I’m at a point in my career where I’m playing with the chips of the house. If I go out and something happens to me, well, I know I did everything I possibly could. I know that any day could be my last. I’m just going to let the chips fall where they may.”
Let them fall right now, A-Rod. Your reputation already has.
I just feel that for a guy who will be nearing 40 years old by the time he is eligible to return — if Rodriguez decides to tuck his tail between his legs and take the suspension — there’s really no upside to ever coming back.
As such, it’s time for Rodriguez to retire so that both he and the Yankees can move on. To be honest, getting rid of the cancer that he has been to the team for many years now (particularly over the past few) might be just what the Bronx Bombers need to return to their former glory.
There’s no more glory to be had for A-Rod, though, and the sooner he realizes it, the better off he and the Yankees will be.
Josh McKinney is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
