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Just as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America – and possibly the Baseball Hall of Fame – is almost done with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Curt Schilling, there’s an even more complicated character about to arrive: Alex Rodriguez. .
Rodriguez is expected to be on the ballot for the first time later this year, along with another slugger with a questionable past – David Ortiz, who has denied ever using steroids.
Rodriguez said two years ago that he wanted Bonds and Clemens to come to Cooperstown.
“Of course I want them in, because that would mean I have the opportunity to participate someday,” Rodriguez told ESPN.
Perhaps.
Bonds and Clemens are two of the most notorious steroid cheaters in baseball history, but they have nothing on Rodriguez, who admitted to using PEDs with the Rangers from 2001 to 2003 and was suspended for the 2014 season. due to his role in the Biogenesis scandal, which included not only steroids but also baseball and Yankees lawsuits – which were ultimately dropped.
Even before his retirement in 2016, Rodriguez began work on rehabilitating his image and he was successful enough that he is still as much of a face in baseball as anyone.
And his reputation has improved enough that he’s seen everywhere, from ESPN to Fox Business to Joe Biden’s inauguration, where he accompanied fiancee Jennifer Lopez.
How this translates into votes for the room is up for debate.
And he clearly hopes his public disgrace won’t disqualify him.
“Listen, I pray every day for the chance to enter,” Rodriguez said in 2019. “The Hall of Fame is the ultimate place. If you think of Roger and Barry in particular… if you ended their careers at 33 or 34, they were both in the first round. [Hall of Famers] and then the noise [about PEDs] start. For me, it’s just a shame. I certainly encourage them both. I like them both very much. They are both friends and I am in their corner.
Rodriguez’s field credentials are impeccable, with 696 homers, 3,115 hits, three AL MVP awards and 14 All-Star appearances.
But while his 22-season career rivals the best in history, his transgressions likely surpass any other player.
“I made my case when I made my mistakes,” Rodriguez told ESPN. “I’m going to have to lie down in my bed. I still hope to be able to enter one day.
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