In the world of baseball, the numbers of the great stars do not go unnoticed and when it is time to retire, they are framed in history. In the case of the Yankees, for example, there is one number that generates a lot of debate and that is that of the legendary player Alex Rodriguez, who left great memories, but even so his story is questioned by some fans and experts
The mythical Rodriguez’s 13 should be remembered by all Yankees fans after leaving a very large legacy and having shone in the team’s jersey. However, there were controversies that keep him in doubt to this day.
Recently there was a meeting of great figures from both the Yankees and the Red Sox and in that dynamic on Fox Sports, there was a rather spicy, but fun dialogue. David Ortiz, formerly of the Yankees, asked Rodriguez: “When are they going to retire your jersey?” to which Rodriguez was very quick and replied “I think you have a better chance of having your jersey retired before mine”.
Jokes and comments aside, this issue has been uncomfortable for Alex Rodriguez, as five years after his retirement, the number 13 was assigned to Joey Gallo and on that occasion, Rodriguez stated that “it didn’t make me happy”. This caused controversy and a lot of surprise, as no one expected the former Yankees player’s number to be reassigned and to understand it you have to go back in time.
Alex Rodriguez’s past
The main controversy that affected the former Yankees player and could explain why his number has not been retired or received the recognition his numbers deserve is that in 2014 he was suspended for the entire season for drug use to improve his performance on the field. This situation generated a lot of repudiation and the club did not look favorably on it.
Rodriguez’s situation was no small matter, as the sanction he received from MLB was the largest doping suspension ever received by a Major League Baseball player and if that brought him problems in the past, it has now overshadowed his brilliant career, which no one can doubt, but Rodriguez is a slave to his past.
Alex Rodriguez’s numbers
Rodriguez is not only considered one of the best players in Yankees history, but also in all of MLB. His performance was spectacular and he had a career worthy of remembrance and recognition.
Among so many records, the Dominican is, for example, the youngest player to hit 500 home runs, where he broke Jimmie Foxx’s record in 1939.
In addition, his statistics include a .295 batting average, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, 3,115 hits and 2,021 runs scored. He won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009, was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player and a four-time Hank Aaron Award winner.
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