With the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame class announced on January 25, USA TODAY Sports is handing out the candidatures of some of the top players on the ballot.
From the moment he signed his first professional contract, Alex Rodriguez seemed destined for a spot in Cooperstown. One of the most polished five-tool prospects ever, he was the No. 1 overall design pick of the high school Seattle Mariners in 1993.
He made his major league debut just a year later and immediately helped make the franchise respectable. He won the American League batting title in 1996 with a .358 average and finished second in the MVP voting – at age 20.
A free agent at age 24, Rodriguez signed the largest contract in professional sports history, a 10-year $250 million deal with the Texas Rangers in 2001. He seemed well on his way to justifying it by the AL in home runs in each of his first three seasons in Texas and winning his first AL MVP award in 2003. However, the Rangers remained in the AL West basement and Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees with seven years left to go on his historic deal.
In New York, A-Rod became even more famous, made even more money and put in even bigger numbers. He had his best season in 2007, hitting .314, leading the AL in both home runs (54) and RBI (156), and won a third MVP. He waived his original record-breaking contract to re-sign with the Yankees and set a new standard with a $275 million 10-year deal.
However, his body began to crumble in his late 30s and he was banned for the entire 2014 season for violating MLB’s drug policy, casting a long shadow on his legacy.
Over 22 seasons in the majors, Rodriguez hit .295 with a .380 on-base percentage and 696 home runs, the fourth most in baseball history behind only Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth.
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the case for
Not just a prodigious homerun hitter, Rodriguez could do everything right on the diamond. He won two gold gloves for his defense at shortstop and a total of 10 silver sluggers (seven at short and three at third base) for his offense.
His long career allowed him to accumulate astonishing totals: 3,115 hits (all-time 22), 2,021 runs (8th), 2,086 RBI (4th) and 5,813 total bases (7th). Plus, he had 329 career steals.
Rodriguez was named to the All-Star team 14 times in addition to his three MVPs, and he was a member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series champions.
His 117.5 Wins Above Replacement ranks 12th among position players in baseball history.
the case against
If there was one criticism of Rodriguez as a player, it’s that he was great in the regular season, but often fell short in the playoffs. Indeed, he went through a terrible 4-for-47 postseason slump of 2004-07. In 2009, however, he was a driving force behind the Yankees to win the World Series and hit .365 in the playoffs with six homeruns and 18 RBI. (Before going back to a .152/.250/.177 batter in his last 22 appearances after the season.)
But numbers, even picked numbers, aren’t the basis for denying Rodriguez a failure at Cooperstown. He publicly admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs as a young Rangers player, in part to help him live up to the hugely high expectations that came with his record-breaking contract.
He reportedly received a therapeutic exemption that allowed him to use testosterone during his MVP-winning 2007 season. And a lengthy MLB investigation found that he purchased PEDs from a Miami clinic between 2010 and 2012 and used them for a period of three years. Before that, he was given a record 211 game suspension (later reduced to 162 games), which resulted in serving the entire 2014 season.
Not surprisingly, those incidents have cast a cloud of suspicion over an entire career’s achievements.
Voting Trends
In his first year on the Hall of Fame vote, Rodriguez shows a level of support comparable to Manny Ramirez, another player who has been suspended late in his career for PED violations.
In Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame vote tracker, Rodriguez is listed on 40.9% of the 161 public votes, which is almost certain he won’t be part of the Class of 2022.
General outlook
History is pretty nice to players who hit 40% in their first year of eligibility. The case of Rodriguez, however, is a very different case. Like Bonds, his list of achievements made him the best the game has ever played. In addition, his connection to PEDs will deter a significant portion of voters from ever checking his name.
Ultimately, Rodriguez seems destined for a Bonds-esque slog during his 10 years on the Hall of Fame ballot — with his greatness recognized on the field, but his offenses off the field barred him from entry.
