Last night on ESPN’s Sunday Night baseball, Boston Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster threw at Alex Rodriguez his entire first at bat before hitting him on a 3-0 fastball. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi went absolutely crazy that Dempster was merely “warned” for his actions and benches cleared, ostensibly just to get a closer listen on the profanities spewing from Girardi’s mouth. Girardi and A-Rod took issue with Dempster’s repeated attempts to hit the maligned slugger. (They may have had a point, as baseball’s unwritten rulebook suggests that you’re allowed one attempt at drilling a guy and then must get back to baseball as usual.) Rodriguez got the last laugh though as he hit a bomb off of Dempster in the 6th, halfway trotted around the bases before posing at home plate to enjoy the boos, and the Yankees won the game.
Take a look at Rodriguez’s eventful night here.
But this night was more than just vengance against a vigilante Red Sox for Mr. Rodriguez. It was some revenge for all of the persecution he’s received since his return. Allowed to play while his impending suspension and appeal are judged, Rodriguez is going through something unlike anyone else has ever experienced. We wrote here about the importance of the rest of this year’s games for his legacy and future in the MLB.
I’m reminded of the 2011 NBA season and LeBron James’ consistent boo-ing that year. It’s not a perfect example because the Miami Heat fans still had LeBron’s back (in a way, Yankees fans have never liked their superstar), but that chorus of boos every day similarly strained both players mentally. Both have always been accused of collapsing in the playoffs, something that may be unwarranted for both, and both will never meet expectations. Still, the difference is that LeBron clearly did not enjoy his 2011 season. He apologized for upsetting fans more than once and was still the most hated man in the NBA. You could tell he just wanted to have fun, win some games, and try to be the greatest player ever.
As for Alex Rodriguez, his attitude is entirely different. He’s become the perfect villain. He’s so easy to hate, despise, boo–but you can’t simply ignore. He always wanted you to like him, was willing to cheat to be the greatest player ever and had the talent to do it. At some point, whether it was when the Rangers offered him $255 Million, on one of those hot Texas day games, when the New York media decided they didn’t like Alex Rodriguez, or when the Yankees paid doctors to claim Rodriguez had a quad strain (when the quad strain probably didn’t exist), Alex Rodriguez started playing for himself. That’s never been more evident than in the past few weeks.
That is, his own team didn’t want him but still Rodriguez needed to play. He needed to prove he could do it without the pills, injections, or creams. Not to the fans (they’ll never trust him again), but to himself.
That self motivation is part of what drives him to do the stupid things he does. He’s always loved himself, maybe a bit too much. Now that nobody else seems to love him, he’s taken on the feeling of a Marvel Comics bad guy. Heath Ledger’s Joker loved causing destruction, loved his humor and his own evil. Villains are always motivated by their own, usually psychotically misguided, line of thinking, but the best villains have tragic back stories and beneath it all just crave the love so long denied them.
Rodriguez’s motivation is clear. He wants to clear his name, he wants to go down as one of the greatest ever and he wants to write an acceptance speech to be read in Cooperstown. He’s vain and self-centered, but he’s also always been good. Nietzsche once wrote that the vanity of others is only vain when it runs opposite to our own. Rodriguez’s vanity flies in the face of our own ideals of morality.
Would you do evil for a chance at immortality? To go down as one of the greatest to ever play a sport? To have thousands of fans cheering for you? I’ve hit home runs in front of five fans and I know the sense of euphoria that I experienced. Cheating so I could feel that feeling multiplied by 10,000 is at least worth considering. Castrate me for being honest, but the motivation for cheating is obvious. While it’s not world domination or religious zealotry that motivate Rodriguez, he’s famous and rich for doing evil.
Maybe it was my re-reading of this post from last year where we compared the 2012 teams with Hollywood movies (it’s worth a re-read or a first read) or the fact that I got there from vainly google image searching my name, but I was reminded of A-Rod. He’s the perfect movie villain for baseball this year. He’s powerful, entirely watchable, and relatable. He’s motivated for good while functioning within his world that is entirely wrong. We hate that the 19-year old from 1995 has turned the corner to take on a strange physical resemblance to Anakin Skywalker circa Episode II . He loves himself like The Joker and he has always been powerful like Darth Vader.
Last night when he posed at home plate, fingers to the sky, reminiscent of how Barry Bonds used to touch home plate, Rodriguez welcomed the boos. He did it for the boos. With nothing else left, the boos assure him he’s still relevant. Where love is denied, hatred must suffice. He’s become the perfect baseball villain.
-Sean Morash
Quote of the Day: When asked if Ryan Dempster should be suspended for throwing at him: “I’m the wrong guy to be asking about suspensions. Holy mackerel. I’ve got an attorney I can recommend…”
