Just as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America – and perhaps the Baseball Hall of Fame – is almost over with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, there is an even more complicated figure about to arrive: Alex Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is expected to be on the ballots for the first time later this year, along with another hitter with a questionable past – David Ortiz, who denied having used steroids.
Rodriguez said two years ago that he was hoping Bonds and Clemens would reach Cooperstown.
“Of course I want them to come in, because that would mean that I will have the opportunity to come in one day,” said Rodriguez on ESPN.
Possibly.
Bonds and Clemens are two of the most notorious steroid cheats in baseball history, but they have nothing about Rodriguez, who admitted to using PEDs while with the 2001-03 Rangers and was suspended for the 2014 season due to his role in the Biogenesis scandal, which included not only steroids, but also lawsuits against baseball and the Yankees – which were eventually withdrawn.
Even before his retirement in 2016, Rodriguez started working on rehabilitating his image and he has been so successful that he is still a baseball face.
And his reputation has improved enough that he can be seen everywhere, from ESPN to Fox Business and to the possession of Joe Biden, where he accompanied fiancee Jennifer Lopez.
How this translates into votes for the Hall is up for debate.
And he clearly hopes that his public disgrace does not disqualify him from entering.
“Look, I pray every day for the chance to get in, ” said Rodriguez in 2019.“ The Hall of Fame is the definitive place. If you think about Roger and Barry specifically … if you interrupted their careers at 33 or 34, they were both in the first vote [Hall of Famers] and then the noise [about PEDs] started. For me, it is a pity. I’m certainly rooting for both. I like both very much. They are both friends and I am on their side. “
Rodriguez’s credentials on the field are impeccable, with 696 home runs, 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 are likely to outweigh any other player.
“I defended my position when I made my mistakes,” said Rodriguez on ESPN. “I’m going to have to lie on my bed. I still hope to be able to enter one day. “