Steroids or Not, A-Rod Reaching 2,000 RBI Is Rare Feat Worth Celebrating
June 13, 2015 · Anthony Witrado · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
The lightning rod has struck again. And with that, his critics will surely strike back.
Alex Rodriguez woke up Saturday morning with 1,999 RBI to his professional name. How he was aided in getting them—his immense offensive talent, his teammates being on base and, of course, the drugs—is irrelevant to the record books.
By the time he laid his manicured head on a Baltimore hotel pillow Saturday night, A-Rod had taken down another milestone. His 666th career home run produced RBI Nos. 2,000 and 2,001, making him just the second official major league player to, somewhat literally, have a ton of RBI. ESPN Stats & Info noted A-Rod’s record-setting performance:
Alex Rodriguez becomes the 2nd player to reach 2,000 RBI since the stat became official in 1920. pic.twitter.com/6UJ4oRTvKY
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 14, 2015
He trails only Henry Aaron’s 2,297 in the Major League Baseball history books since the game did not tally RBI before 1920. Aaron holds the all-time unofficial record, with Babe Ruth (2,214), Cap Anson (2,075) and now the game’s all-time most controversial player as the only others in the club, as the New York Times‘ Tyler Kepner pointed out:
Career RBI leaders (since baseball actually was played before 1920): Hank Aaron 2297, Babe Ruth 2214, Cap Anson 2075, Alex Rodriguez 2001.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) June 14, 2015
People will undoubtedly scoff at Rodriguez’s numbers. He brought that criticism on himself when he decided to tangle with performance-enhancing drugs, which he twice admitted to—once in 2009 and again in 2014, according to the Miami Herald (h/t ESPN.com). The MLB investigation into the reported second occurrence cost him the entire 2014 season.
His team, the New York Yankees, barely acknowledge his feats anymore because of his tumultuous past. One home run no more special than the previous or the next, his 2,000th RBI no different than No. 1,999—except for the fact that they are keeping the Yankees afloat in the thick American League East as Rodriguez vies for the league’s Comeback Player of the Year honor.
But just because the Yankees brass has decided not to honor, or pay, Rodriguez when he reaches certain milestones, it does not mean those milestones aren’t special. Baseball loves its record book, and like it or not, A-Rod is all over it and in rarefied company.
None of Barry Bonds, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb or anybody else who has ever played the game aside from the four mentioned before have collected 2,000 RBI. When a player is better than those men at anything that has to do with playing baseball, he should to be appreciated.
Rodriguez’s PED scandals have not just tarnished his reputation. In the eyes of many baseball players, executives, media members and fans, they have scribbled all over the hallowed record book with a brightly colored permanent marker, transforming a masterpiece into a joke.
Rodriguez is obviously not the only player to do so, but he is the best and most heavily scarred. He is the face of an era, in the most despised way possible.
Because of that, it is easy to ignore his greatness or simply brush it off as a product of synthetic [insert substance here]. It should not be that way.
While an RBI is not a great way to determine a player’s production or value, it still means something. And reaching a number that only three other magnificent offensive players before him have should still be an impressive accomplishment for Rodriguez.
The same can be said about his 600th home run or when he recently passed Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list. It will hold true again next week when Rodriguez will likely become the 29th member of the 3,000-hit club.
People might not like what he used to get there, but the sheer impressiveness of the feats should not be lost on them, or anyone.
And that Rodriguez is this productive as he approaches his 40th birthday is extraordinary as well. Considering he was a mess the last time we saw him in the batter’s box before this season, his 11 home runs and .883 OPS as the team’s No. 3 hitter are almost shocking. Katie Sharp of River Ave. Blues noted the significant impact A-Rod’s HR stat has in placing the Yankees in a potential winning position:
7 of A-Rod’s 12 HR this year have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) June 14, 2015
Then we remember we are talking about maybe the most prolific hitter the game has ever employed, with or without the artificial flavoring.
In a society that loves to forgive its stars after it chastises them, there is none of it for A-Rod. For too long, he’s attempted to fool baseball fans and lie about it. And in a game rooted in and sometimes defined by its history, that is something a player just can’t do, no matter how great he is or was.
As long as he remains healthy, Rodriguez will keep on knocking over milestones and climbing higher in the record book. Baseball and its fans will continue to despise him for it. It’s just how things work these days when it comes to Rodriguez.
Even if that is the case, though, his accomplishments should still be appreciated and celebrated.
All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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