A-Rod returns, minus all of the ’roid rage
TAMPA – Last year around this time, Alex Rodriguez was Yankee Enemy No. 1, the juiciest story in baseball and a man coming back from the longest drug suspension in the game’s history.
Who the heck knew what was going to happen when A-Rod, the superstar who went to war against his team and his league, arrived at spring training? No one could say whether he could actually still play baseball, much less how he’d be received. He even annoyed the Yanks when he didn’t tell them he was reporting early.
There were media stakeouts at the club’s minor-league complex with cameras recording everything, including him getting in and out of his car. Tension filled in the air.
That’s all changed now after Rodriguez blasted 33 homers last season, kept his big yap shut and his nose clean. He’s expected at George M. Steinbrenner Field Wednesday to take a physical the day before the Yanks’ first full-squad workout and his arrival is a whole different ballgame than last year. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a story now,” reliever Andrew Miller said. “He did such a good job of handling everything both on and off the field with us, with (reporters), with the fans, I think that he took care of that and defused anything that was going to happen and it’s a credit to him. You won’t hear any buzz about it. The plan is just to have him come here and play baseball like the rest of us.”
Aroldis Chapman and his potential suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy have been the big stories in Yankee camp so far. Could it be that A-Rod’s arrival will generate – get this – positive publicity for the club this time? Rodriguez tweeted Tuesday that he was leaving Miami for Tampa, writing, “On the road again. Headed to camp. #SpringTraining #Yankees” Attached was a video of his car departing – he got tweaked by former teammate Phil Hughes, who responded, “@AROD nice of your driver to shoot a little vid”
Rodriguez is slated to address the press Thursday after the club’s workout. The Yankees are expecting “less fanfare,” Joe Girardi said.
“I think there will be less attention paid on him from the media,” Girardi added. “I guess I’ll find out on Thursday but I don’t imagine the press conference about him and the questions I was asked about him will be nearly as numerous as last year.”
“I guess for (Rodriguez) it has to be a different feeling,” Carlos Beltran added. “For him to feel like what happened is in the past and, ‘I came back and performed.’ I guess he has to feel relief.”
After not playing in 2014 because of his drug ban, Rodriguez, 40, appeared in 151 games last year, batting .250 with 86 RBI. He passed Willie Mays on the all-time homer list, Lou Gehrig on the all-time RBI leaderboard and got his 3,000th career hit. He’ll start this season 13 homers shy of the 700 club and Babe Ruth’s lifetime total of 714 is within reach if he plays like he did last year. He talked over and over again about being thankful for his second chance and maybe that worked. But even beyond baseball, teammates are talking about him as an important cog in the clubhouse. “He’s a big part of this team outside of when he’s in the batter’s box, even,” Miller said.
“Alex is a baseball man,” Beltran added. “Alex is a big guy in the clubhouse. He’s a guy who loves to talk about baseball, wants to win. He celebrates your hits and everyone’s hits like it’s his own hits. Sometimes, when you play against him, I didn’t know that. Now that I’m in the same clubhouse, I can tell you that he’s a good teammate, a very good teammate. He cares. He wants to do well. He wants to perform. We just hope that he’s healthy and that he can perform and put a good year, close or the same as last year.”
First, Rodriguez will enter camp under very different circumstances.