A-Rod closing in on controversial record
Yankees’ much-maligned slugger 75 swats away from Bonds’ milestone
Alex Rodriguez plants his right foot in the batter’s box, takes a swing, steps in and taps the plate. His name is announced and fans respond with seven seconds of applause.
After two years as a scoundrel, he’s once again a star in the minds of many New York Yankees fans.
One year after his return from a drug suspension, A-Rod is approaching the home run marks of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. He hit 33 last year, his most since 2008, and enters this season with 687, just 75 from matching Bonds’ record.
“I know he gets there in three years,” Yankees great Reggie Jackson said. “I think it would be shocking if he got there in two.”
A-Rod says he plans to retire after the 2017 season. But he also says he could change his mind. Surpassing Bonds could be too alluring.
Last spring, Rodriguez’s name was absent from items in the Yankees’ gift shops as the team prepared to fight over a $6-million marketing payment triggered by his 660th home run — matching Willie Mays’ total. This March, Rodriguez batting practice jerseys that cost $129.95 sold out at Steinbrenner Field and the team doesn’t appear to anticipate a dispute if ARod reaches the next payment level for matching Ruth at 714.
Rodriguez turns 41 this July and in the post-steroids era already is at an age when feet and bats slow down, where balls that once soared over walls are caught on the warning track. His hairline has started to recede and he keeps his locks trimmed, limiting hints of grey to a minimum.
As much as he tries to concentrate on the next game, the next at-bat and the next pitch, the big picture infiltrates his thoughts.
“There are things you just can’t help to think about. Obviously, they’re there. They’re big numbers,” he said. “But the goal for me this year is exactly what it was last year: come out, work really hard, be in good shape, be productive in the middle of the lineup and try to help us win games. And whatever the numbers add up to, they add up to.”
History suggests he might fall short of Bonds’ 762.
Bonds holds the record for most home runs after turning 40 with 79. Rodriguez already has 10 since his last birthday. The mark for most in a season by someone who already was 40 on opening day is 29, shared by Ted Williams and Raul Ibanez.
“Of course, I’m sure it’s in his head,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “You hope that it doesn’t weigh heavily and that he’s able just to go out and relax and play.”
Rodriguez played in 151 games last year, his highest total since 2007, although he was shifted from third base to designated hitter and spent just 11 innings in the field. Before the suspension, he had gone on the disabled list six times in six years for a string of ailments that included operations on both hips, one knee surgery, a strained calf and a broken hand.
Still, Rodriguez tailed off in the last two months of the season. After homering off the Texas Rangers’ Matt Harrison for his sixth birthday homer, he ended his first night as a 40-year-old with a .276 batting average, 24 homers and 59 RBI. ARod hit .208 with nine homers and 27 RBI the rest of the season.
He became an elder statesman on a middling Yankees team that limped into the playoffs and was eliminated by Houston in the AL wild-card game. Rodriguez was affable as a guest analyst on Fox during the rest of the post-season. But whether on television or not, A-Rod won’t say whether he thinks Aaron’s 755 or Bonds’ 762 are within reach.
“I don’t allow myself to think that far ahead,” he said. “Literally, when you’re 40, you’re day to day, so you can’t get too excited.”