I just finished reading ESPN’s jawdroppingly good piece on Alex Rodriguez’s year suspended from baseball, and though I don’t know if my opinion of A-Rod has changed all that much, I know I’ll certainly be rooting for him come next week.
If you haven’t read it, you should. It chronicles A-Rod’s journey over the last 12 months–his college level marketing class, motivational seminars, therapist visits, training sessions, and batting practice with Barry Bonds. It paints the picture of someone who is damaged and trying to cope with it; who has a warped perception of the world and limited means of interacting with it, but who ultimately means well.
The article does a good job of making Rodriguez seem sympathetic without forgetting about or trying to explain away all that Rodriguez has done wrong. From the outset, it lists his misdeeds prior to the steroid lies and suspension: yelling at fielders, trying to smack the ball out of a fielder’s mitt, posing for a photo kissing his reflection, it goes on. These things are unexplainable except when chalked up to the actions of a deluded and misguided person–which Alex is, or was.
The article makes the point that A-Rod is changing; growing up, finally, and educating himself–both traditionally in college classes, and by examining the way he interacts with people and the public.
And while that’s a good thing, it’s still impossible to feel sorry for him.
The article skirts the details of the steroid issues, as does Rodriguez it seems. The author, JR Moehringer, says that A-Rod himself has bee unable to come to grips with what he’s done, that he, to paraphrase, gets to the edge of the abyss but always ends up backing away. The implication is not that he’s really a good person who has done some terrible things, but that his good self can’t come to terms with the actions some bad alter ego took. More likely, Rodriguez was, for a very, very long time, an incredibly naive person who finally, after being slapped in the face by major league baseball, woke up, looked around, and realized just how embarrassed he should be.
It’s thought provoking. Rodriguez isn’t this cartoon villain; he’s a real person who–until now, he claims, but I’m not so sure–has lacked the self-awareness to stop coming off like a cartoon villain. He cites his daughters as the catalyst for his epiphany; that he realized he was ruining his life and their lives with his lies and litigiousness. I think that’s probably right. I’m not so sure he has the wherewithal to do anything about it though.
One thing that does shine through is his love of baseball and his legendary aptitude for it. And I have to say, regardless of all else, it’s hard not to root for someone who loves the sport so much; someone who loves the artistry of hitting as he clearly does. I won’t cheer A-Rod because he doesn’t deserve it, but I’ll be rooting for him to put a ball in the left field seats.
-Max Frankel
