Alex Rodriguez may be the player with the most complicated legacy not just in New York Yankees history, but in all of Major League Baseball.
Drafted No. 1 overall in 1993, he received the loudest cheers and boos of his 22-year career, hitting 696 home runs, winning three MVPs, one World Series, and 10 Silver Sluggers. Obtained.
In 12 seasons with the Yankees, he batted .283 with a .900 OPS, a Hall of Fame-worthy stat, but his ups and downs during his tenure likely explain why the team has yet to retire his No. 13.
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New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (number 13) waves to fans after his final Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won 6-3. (Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports)
Rodriguez admitted in October that the fact that his number was not in Monument Park was “concerning.” But in a recent interview with Fox News Digital, he said he knows it’s “not my place to say” whether he deserves the honor.
“I’d be happy if that happens. It would be a dream come true,” Rodriguez said. “But that’s Hal Steinbrenner’s and Randy Levine’s decision. If they say it’s a good thing, I’ll be the first to make that decision. Even if it’s not, I still love the Yankees and We look forward to supporting them and hoping they win this year.”
No player has ever succeeded, failed and succeeded again like Rodriguez. He undoubtedly made headlines at the height of his powers, but his fan base plummeted in 2013 when he was suspended for 211 games for using performance-enhancing drugs. It was the second time he’d been caught out, having also come clean in 2009. It was eventually scaled back to just the entire 2014 season.
During that time, he was highly critical of the Yankees, the team he’d spent the last decade with, threatening to sue them. While he was fighting his suspension, and even shortly after returning from it, he was booed just as loudly as he was by the Bronx faithful, not just in opposing stadiums, where he was slammed with faint cheers.
A fan holds a banner honoring New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, who wears number 13, during a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City on August 13, 2013. (Jim MacIsaac/Getty Images)
Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez says the team is “on a journey” to do something “really special.”
However, as he hit 33 home runs in 2015, most of his home runs were allowed (of course, “FORG1V3” shirts were sold at the opening game of that year), and in the final game of 2016, he received a standing ovation. He left the field. He wasn’t quite as successful as Derek Jeter, but that would have been unimaginable just two years ago. It was kind of a comedic turn of events, but the next day Aaron Judge was promoted.
After retiring, of course, he became one of the most influential baseball pundits, joining Fox as an analyst and previously broadcasting “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN, becoming a fan favorite and an old He teamed up with Jeter, a friend and rival from the United States.
From left to right, Kevin Burkhart, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Altuve, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter play during the Texas Rangers vs. Houston game at Minute Maid Park on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Houston. He was speaking during a broadcast before Game 2 of the Astros’ American League Championship Series. (Alex Bierens de Haan/MLB Photo via Getty Images)
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After Rodriguez’s retirement, no Yankees player wore this number until Joey Gallo was acquired in 2021. The Yankees let Gallo go in 2022 after a tenure that may have drawn more boos than Rodriguez at Fenway Park.
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