Alex Rodriguez's Admission

If pressed to cite my longest-running passion, it would have to be the New York Yankees. I began visiting the Stadium before I could walk. I was there for Charlies Hayes' catch as the Yankees secured the World Series in 1996. By pure luck, I sat far up the right field upper deck when David Wells tossed his perfect game. I saw Seaver's 300th win in 1985. And there were the dramatic shots by Tino and Derek in the 2001 Series. And yes, I was there for many dreadful games during the eighties. In addition to being on hand for many memorable games and moments, the circus that is often Yankees baseball has provided years and years of memories. From Billy Martin to Yogi's boycott and Winfield's bird incident to Jack McDowell's own bird incident, through ups and downs, the Yanks are never lacking in excitement and drama.

I can vividly remember the day the Yankees surrendered Alfonso Soriano for Alex Rodriguez. Despite his massive talents and a decade-plus of years ahead of him, I was devastated. Not only was Soriano one of my favorite Yankees, but I just couldn't imagine a player like A-Rod transitioning to New York. The Yankees' run of the late 90's was not brought on by any superstar talent, but rather a collection of gutsy, hard-working and selfless players, the likes of Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, El Duque and David Cone. There was a cohesiveness to those teams that I just couldn't imagine A-Rod fitting into. And then there was the pressure of tossing on the pinstripes. Many gifted players have signed on to the Yankees over the years, and quickly saw their talents buried under the pressure of the New York media and fans. Those were my fears with Alex Rodriguez.

How Rodriguez has fared with the Yankees in his first five years is well documented. He puts up massive numbers during the regular season but disappears in the postseason. His on-and-off the field distractions and endless tabloid appearances anger the fans to no end. There was the slap at Bronson Arroyo and the pop-fly incident in Toronto. But through all the ups-and-downs, he remained a Yankee, and as such, most of us defended him. Or at the very least, we simply kept quiet.

As he continued to struggle in the postseason, patience started to wear thin. How could a player of such enormous talent and ability fall so flat in October? It was pretty clear that it was all in his head. The pressure of New York didn't manifest itself so much over the course of a long regular season, but once it came down to the meaningful at-bats that could determine the season's outcome, A-Rod would seize up. But again, he was a Yankee, and after the 2007 signing, he wasn't going anywhere. We would continue to pull for him.

And then came Saturday morning. The whole baseball world was turned inside out again, as arguably the greatest talent ever to play the game, Alex Rodriguez, had tested positive for steroids in 2003. Unlike the media at large, I didn't immediately pounce at the opportunity to finally put an end to supporting A-Rod. Not because he's a Yankee, but rather because I've never considered individual players as the primary deviants throughout the steroid era. Before you click to close this page, let me briefly explain. At some point in the 90s or so, performance-enhancing drugs started to run rampant throughout baseball. As the culture almost became the norm, the league reaped the benefits. Following the strike season of 1994, baseball needed something to shine the spotlight back on this wonderful game. As 1998 rolled around and baseballs were leaving parks at a rapid rate, the public started to move past '94. We all remember the spectacle of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Once again, baseball was everywhere. It was thrilling to see them chase Maris and ultimately move past him.

We'd later learn that this was all a scam. Those records were attained not solely by talent and hard work, but also by drugs. The purest game in America was suddenly turning sour fast. We questioned everyone and everything. And through it all, Bud Selig, the commissioner of the game, turned a blind eye. As more and more players turned to the juice, what were the clean players supposed to do? Should they allow a portion of the league to put up tainted numbers and watch their hard work be overshadowed by cheaters? And since the league's top brass were doing very little to stop this behavior, this only added to the lure. I am in no way excusing those who cheated the game, but this fiasco is deeper than any one player's indiscretions, as egregious as they may be.

After two days of nothing from Rodriguez, he has now come forward and admitted that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while a member of the Texas Rangers. Unlike Clemens, McGwire and Palmeiro, who are about as easy to track down as bin Laden, and unlike Giambi and Pettitte who offered up somewhat weak admissions, after first viewing, it appears as if Rodriguez is saying a lot. He has admitted to taking substances for well over two seasons. Sure, maybe he had no choice but to come clean, but my initial reaction to his first statements is that I'm finally seeing this amazing talent let his guard down. He's finally dropped the false pretenses and revealed his insecurities and errors. And despite all the baggage that his past and the last few days' news has brought, at least for today, we're seeing a side of Alex Rodriguez that fans just might accept.

Comments

[Chris Campbell]

A-Rods press conference today was downright embarrassing. He injected a substance for three years yet didn't really know what it was? Ahhh, yeah. I thought the Gammons interview was the beginning of his coming clean, but today was proof that he's now just trying to push it away as quickly as possible. This is understandable, but if he claims to have "told us the truth", then he'll never move away from the steroid shadow. He's now had two chances and it's just one excuse after another. "Young and naive" gets old really fast.

[KayJay90]

rofman said, "Like ARod, the league should just come clean, admit they screwed up, and move on."

jdig71874 said, "At least he came clean and didn't lie like Tejada and Clemens and the rest."

Are you two Yankee fans?

Don't kid yourself that Rodriguez used steroids in the 3 years he was a Texas Ranger, where there was little to no pressure from anybody -- and he STOPPED when he was traded to the Yankees, where there is immense pressure for ANY player these days, especially for one as psychologically fragile as Rodriguez.

Ask him the right questions, and he'll dodge around like he did to Selena Roberts. Or like Roger Clemens dodged in front of Congress.

As a matter of fact, he MIGHT have to answer questions in front of Elijah Cummings, one of Clemens' questioners in that Congressional hearing a year ago. I've seen news reports of Elijah Cummings being interested in this new steroid revelation.

[flush75]

A-Rod just signed a 10-year deal and the guy didn't want to be asked about whether the SI story was true or not for the next 10 years. Better to just get it over with now. I don't think he genuinely feels bad or guilty. I don't even think he thinks he did anything wrong. He came out and said that he had "no excuses" and then want on to blame the "culture," his contract, and even the weather in Texas. Please.

However, he's not nearly as spineless as Bud Selig who had the balls to come out and say that A-Rod "shamed the game." I wish he would please acknowledge his role in all of this. He was loving all the attention baseball was getting in 1998 and pretended not to notice when reporters were asking McGwire about andro and its connection to steroid use. Now, since Congress pressured him and the union to have mandatory testing, all of a sudden he's all high and mighty. He can suck it. They all can. Except Jeter.

[bmannion]

A Rod is a brand and his army of PR people told him to fess up now after strategically weighing all options. He's spineless.

I learned the "But everyone else did it" lesson from my middle school prinicipal Mr. Hagy. A Rod has no one to blame but himself.

Here to hoping the Yanks buy out the rest of his contract

[jdig71874]

The Yanks have 9 more years of this guy? Yikes. Have fun with that.
At least he came clean and didn't lie like Tejada and Clemens and the rest.

[Chris Campbell - Huffpost Blogger]

How can he punish A-Rod and not suspend himself? History will prove that Selig is likely more responsible than anyone for the steroid era. Right now he's just pointing fingers and doing everything imaginable to keep as much of the media as possible from blaming him. I must admit, he's done a good job on this front - kinda reminds me of that president who just left office.

[rofman]

Good piece. I agree that those at the top (Selig, Orza, owners, etc.) share some culpability with all of this. Selig's statements that he may punish Rodriguez make me sick. I doubt it'll happen, as doing that would probably start to turn people off to how baseball is handling this. Also, how can he punish ARod and not every other person on that list?

Like ARod, the league should just come clean, admit they screwed up, and move on.