Eight months ago, The Onion ran a mock obituary for A-Rod, after the “baseball legend and mythical figure” admitted to steroid use. “A-Rod is survived by 33-year-old Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, a divorced father of two,” read the story. It was a humorous way of charting the decline of Rodriguez’ public image.
Fast-forward to Saturday night, when Rodriguez homered for the third time this postseason, tying Game 2 of the ALCS in extra innings. Maybe the steroid admission destroyed the weight of Rodriguez’ superstar image, along with the image itself.
The Yankees can say all they want about how Rodriguez took time to “reflect” during his recovery from hip surgery, but we think his season (and all these clutch hits) have more to do with the supposed “death” of the player and person he tried so hard to become.
Now that the steroids and divorce are behind him, Rodriguez doesn’t seem to be worrying about his image. He no longer can be the perfect person that everyone wanted him to be, so why force it? Instead Rodriguez is enjoying himself more than ever. He’s dating Kate Hudson. He’s taking a back seat to the new hired guns in New York (CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira).
Exactly half of Rodriguez’ home runs and RBI this season either tied the game or gave the Yankees the lead. In the playoffs, he’s been even better, consistently coming through with the big hit when the Bombers need it most.
So rest in peace, A-Rod. It looks like Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez is doing fine without you.
