A. Rod
I know there's many fans out there, so what's the consensus about Rodriguez?Personally, I'm a purist so I don't believe he deserves the recognition - now or in the future, for any record. Records are for those who honestly achieved them, not cheaters. One can argue about the all time hit leader - Pete Rose, but he wasn't juiced when he played, dishonorable but not a cheater.
ExTownieHe's a scumbag and a terrible roll model for kids. With all the money the Yankees have, they should have just paid him off to leave.
Hack in town I have never considered him a Yankee. He can put on the uniform, play good ball, all that but I wish he were gone. Don't think he should be recognized as a great player. Would he have been this good without the "help" he thought he needed? Now Jeter - he was a great player and someone kids could look up to.
justwondering For once he has learned to shut his mouth this year so he is tolerable. His mouth was always his problem. If you ask me the drugs actually hurt his career and physical ability more then it helped. My guess would be the injections sites are what killed his hips. He was a talent since his early teens it is a shame he messed with the stuff at all to have people question his accomplishments .For me I could careless that he took anything. He was also hitting against people taking stuff. Overall I think most of the rules are BS, how come you can go to Europe and get all these stem cell treatments or every pitcher who gets tomy john surgery 3 years into there mlb career. How is a tendon from your leg put in your arm legit but a pill or something not makes no sense. He still completed the acomplishment. Testosterone or HGH does not hit the ball for you. Go get a few body builders and see if they can do what he did . It still takes the work.
jdem 
Caged Animal Good point Caged. I like it. I want to be my kids role model and work at it every day.
CraftBeerBob Then what do you do about Gaylord Perry? Who is in the Hall of Fame and has since admitted cheating by throwing doctored baseball.
Bry 
JeffersonRepub 
skippy Athletes are not role models... sorry... They are entertainers. That's like saying a porn star is a role model because they also provide entertainment. Role models should be people who are valuable to society. The world would move on without Major League Baseball. We can't live without police, firemen, EMT's, doctors, etc.
A-Rod is in a class with Bonds and Clemens. All would have been Hall of Famers without the juice. If anything the juice kept them on the field all year. There's no way to calculate what their stats would be without it. And you Yankee fans wouldn't have won in 2009 without A-Rod so I don't get why people hate him so much. I get that he's a drama queen but if he helps you win, then shutup...
Metsman I'm no A-Rod fan either, and if he's not on roids this year, I expect him to slump big time in the second half of the season.
Since Barry Bonds has not been voted into the Hall of Fame yet, I expect A-Rod will not be voted in anytime soon, either.
Their hitting stats may be in the record books, but public opinion does not favor them. For some very interesting reading about what kind of person A-Rod has been, read Vindicated by Jose Canseco, subtitled Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball.
Pete Rose always comes up in these discussions ... he was an admitted amphetamine user ... baseball had no rules against it at the time, just like they were looking the other way on roids.
Rose violated the cardinal rule of the game, he bet on baseball games. For that, he should never work in the sport (at the major league level) again ... but if it were up to me, I'd relent on the Hall of Fame and let him in, for his accomplishments as a player before his gambling problems began.
Rose had an addiction to gambling -- very sad. We don't take addictions seriously enough in this country -- it is an illness which ruins many families and prevention efforts are needed.
Met Johnny Bench at a fundraiser near Allentown in 2012, everybody asked him about Pete -- Johnny had no sympathy, said he broke the rules and rules are rules.
Generally, the players who are in the Hall are not very sympathetic to Bonds, A-Rod or Rose, for that matter.
Andy Loigu Whether we like it or not, professional athletes are admired by children. Therefore they owe it to the public to remain a decent human being.
Role model or public figure or entertainer. Whatever term you would like to use. They are paid enough money to be able to act as decent human beings.
I would not be happy if my children only looked up to me as a role model. Role models come in all shapes, sizes, colors and professions.
I miss Jeter.
I'd rather talk about Manny Machado, but if you insist on making it all about A-Rod, well, he certainly hasn't been a role model. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe after everything he's been through (he can only blame himself) .... maybe he's matured and changed. Let us hope. He can do a lot of good for a lot of people with all that money and his name recognition.
What sports are about is performance. I've been mocked for saying I liked Alex Ochoa, as nice a family values person as anyone would ever meet, because he never was an All-Star, although any player in baseball would envy his throwing arm. Sports are about results, so you get people in there based on talent --- being a good guy is way down the list of priorities when teams are competing and trying to win.
A good guy who played at an All-Star and Hall of Fame level was Cal Ripken (a 3,000-hits guy). Jose Canseco said about him, "can you imagine how good he would have been on steroids?"
Steroids will not make you a better baseball player. Steroids can not make you hit a ball with a bat any better. And as far as the injection site comment about ruining his hips that's just stupid. People always look to put down others or take away from their abilities if its something they can never accomplish so I guess by saying he was only a good player because of steroids is peoples way of putting him down. Im not a fan of him in any way but the steroids did not make him a good player.
momof3 He's a scumbag and a terrible roll model for kids. With all the money the Yankees have, they should have just paid him off to leave.
Hack in town
I am in NO WAY an A-Rod fan, but to call him a scumbag is a little harsh. Who did he kill? Who did he rape? Who did he kidnap? A player can be a role model with what he/she does on the field, not off it. Mickey Mantle was a known big time drunk, does that mean kids during his era thought it was ok to drink? I grew up watching Superman and loved him (show) but not once did I think I was Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound. How many kids idolize rock stars, who are heavy into drugs? Why do only sports star take heat for bad behavior?
The problem I have with A-Rod is he lied and brought others down with his lies. Same with Brian Braun & Lance Armstrong, both who caused innocent people to loose their job (or as in Lance's case lawsuits also)
Clyde Potts Anybody who makes the majors was a great player just to get there.
Don't take it from me, read the books by Jose Canseco, the Godfather of Steroids.
The roids make great players superhuman, and they enable them to keep doing it longer, longer careers for bigger money. They put up previously unheard of stats during the Steroid Era.
Compare the offensive totals of today's players, now that steroids (hopefully) are out of the game, to the days when guys like Bonds, McGwire and Sosa were doing unheard of things. Brady Anderson had a 50 home run season, for crying out loud.
Brady Anderson.
"I went on to tell (Mike) Wallace (on 60 Minutes) that I was a fan of steroids: 'I truly believe that because I've experimented with it for so many years that it can make an average athlete a superathlete. It can make a superathlete incredible; just legendary.' I also told him that I didn't think I would have hit 462 home runs or become the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season, back in 1988, if I hadn't juiced up. But you still needed talent. Steroids couldn't do anything for you if you didn't already have talent." --- Jose Canseco in Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball.
If they didn't do anything, why did (by many estimates) four out of every five major leaguers start using them between 1998 and 2002?
Here are Brady Anderson's career stats --- look at what he did from 1988 to 1991.
Now look at 1996.
Holy cow! Where did THAT come from?
Lots of similar cases in that era.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=anderbr01
A-Rod should be in the Hall of Fame, no question. Alleged steroid use does not make you get 3,000 hits. Alleged steroid use makes your HR go 425ft. rather than 400ft. I've been an Alex Rodriguez believer and supporter from day one when he broke into the majors. God given talent and easily one of the best (if not the best) hitters of recent time.
Regardless of his transgressions, he's been a Gold Glove infielder (steroids made his glove better too.. right?) and a Silver Slugger for all of his career. Everyone makes mistakes and he did his time for it. To sit out one year this late into a career would render many players useless and force them to retire. Alex used this as motivation and is swinging a great bat this year. I love seeing all the A-Rod haters talk smack this year because they are the same people that were questioning if he could still even play the game.
Without the alleged steroid use, he would have been in the Hall of Fame without a doubt - just like Bonds. He's a gifted athlete.
BaseballMan How do you know steroid use does not enable you to get 3,000 hits, 600 homers etc.?
If it does not help, why did he do it? He's admitted to it.
Calico696 Steroids can also help a warning track fly ball sail over the fence.
What they give you, from all the stuff I've read, is endurance to go through a long season without fatigue and the ability to do twice the hard workouts, with quicker recovery ... hence, more strength and stamina, bigger numbers, bigger contracts.
I get where you are coming from Andy but by that theory should vitamin supplements, protein powder, creatine all be banned to, or stop allowing these freeze therapies for pitchers as it is an unfair recovery of there arm and should be all natural that they can not pitch again until there arm feels better on its own. In the NHL playoffs Ryan Mcdonaugh played 4 games on a broken foot while they froze it so he would not feel it. So should be be excluded from the hall if ever considered because he got to play with a treatment that 50 years ago a player would have had to sit . I just do not get why one thing is deemed okay yet another not. If you should be all natural then every tommy john surgery player should be forced into retirement. Why should a batter have to face them.
What kind of roll? Kaiser? Portuguese?
Calico696
LOL
The use of the incorrect form of the word ROLE not ROLL, just backs up what Emaxx was saying in another thread.
A-Rod is a terrible jelly model for kids lol
Some people on this thread just don't know what steroids are and what they do.
Do some research.
I am aware what they do and have known plenty of people who have done them and they are no magic. Just the opposite actually . If you do not put the work in after you take them you just get all puffed up fat and doughy looking.
I wrote a column about your favorite player a few years back, wonder what he's done for that foundation ...
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2009/02/andy_loigu_sports_chatter_colu.html
You're telling us A-Roid is this wonderful guy we all should admire?
Read this ...
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/coffey-hooton-fight-peds-a-rod-article-1.2013137
LoBo The point is that he lied to his fans and the rest of the world. Once my son noticed that, he dropped him like a brick. No longer my sons "roll" model (lol).
I do agree that "roids" do not help the hand/eye coordination it takes to hit a major league fastball. JMT's
Hot corner He is not my favorite player but you can still look objectively at mlb or any major sport and say what is deemed acceptable and not is contradictory. I would frankly find it more acceptable for a player to get an hgh treatment to aide in recovery then the team pump them with narcotics and freeze body parts to get them back playing. I find all across tactics with suing the team and league obnoxious but on the other side the leagues say one thing and do another cause the commissioner loves him now.
Hitting the ball is one thing, everybody who makes the majors can do it.
Driving it with power is quite something else. Babe Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer.
jd2 Well for people going the route of people to look up to or be a role model I would rather a guy taking performance enhancement than a guy pounding beers and smoking in the locker room.
I wish I could admire all players for their natural ability and hard work that got them there...unfortunately I can't.
Give me a Bill Buckner any day of the week, now that's a ball player!!
(I'm a Cubs fan, BTW!)
tripsy I've met Ryne Sandberg, interviewed him when he was manager of the IronPigs.
Triple-A is a tough place to manage, because the players all feel they belong in the majors and are not happy to be there.
However, they respected Sandberg, played hard for him, and spoke real well of him.
And they stole some exciting games with daring base-running and great defensive play. The manager coaches third base in the minors and Sandberg was always sending those guys, really playing aggressive ball.
He got them into the Governor's Cup playoff championship series, beating the Pawtucket Red Sox to get there. The IronPigs have been losing ever since Sandberg moved on to Philly.
If he gets some good pitchers, he'll get it turned around in Philadelphia.
Roywhite Hey mom of 3 have you told your kids its ok to do them, just wondering, cause the effects later in life are not funny, i know i have some high shool buddies feeling it now, it can kill you. So you should say to your kids that it did make him better, cause it did, but he cheated, cheating is not allowed, U take an amazing hitter put him on roids now he hits it further, you understand, yes it does make you better, Barroid, took some for his eyes to see better, sammy sosa did it and corked his bad,
doctor k 16 A Rod is a Cheater....and a Liar....all his records are Tarnished. Comparing him to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron....is a JOKE .................A Rod was a very good player without the PED's.....why did he take them?.....to have an edge over others and knowing that it was illegal....every game that the Yankees have won with A Rod in the Line Up should be Forfeited.....His records should not count....A one year ban from Baseball was not proper punishment.....It was a slap on the wrist. MLB has lost it's integrity.......because of these selfish arrogant players like A Rod
EPW Ryne Sandberg's resignation announcement surprised me, but I won't comment on it until I get more information regarding what led up to it. I'd never call him a quitter, especially after having been in that IronPigs locker room so many times.
We usually don't know what went on away from the public's view ... and, anywhere there is money involved, there is ugly internal politics.
It reminded me of another resignation announcement in-season by a Phillies manager, Eddie Sawyer in 1960 ...
"I'm 49 years old and would like to live to see 50."
Commenting is no longer available.