A-Rod Joins 600 HR Club: Does Anyone Care?
August 4, 2010 · Adam Wells · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Watching Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run should have been a big deal.
It should have been another milestone for the man who could eventually shoot past Mays, Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds on his way to becoming the all-time home run king. However, while watching it live…there was never that feeling of this being something special.
In New York, the moment will be celebrated just because that’s where A-Rod happens to play. However, throughout the country there was no feeling of greatness or feeling that we are witnessing something special. For a sport that is so rich with tradition, history, and numbers like baseball is, this should have been a big deal. So what happened?
Did the “steroid era” in Major League Baseball ruin everything? I never bought into the whole notion that steroids were the worst thing in the world. Should players have been tested long ago? Absolutely.
However, we never really know how much steroids or any performance enhancing drug truly helps an athlete. Given the rash of athletes who have admitted steroid use or have been linked to steroids in the last few years, the steroid issue has really taken the joy out of the game. Now, whenever we see a player hit a home run we often wonder if they were juicing.
Does the joy of seeing an athlete join such a rare group immediately evaporate as soon as the steroid label is attached to them? Perhaps. If you conducted a countrywide poll, people would likely say that they don’t care because A-Rod is a cheater. However, perhaps there is more to this than just steroids. It could have to do with personal feelings for A-Rod.
Now, I don’t know Alex Rodriguez. For all I know, he could be the nicest man in the world. However, when you watch him play or when you listen to him talk there is nothing that seems genuine about the man. He has a smug attitude and he seems to think that the world owes him something because he is Alex Rodriguez.
Does this take away from the fact that he is a great baseball player? No. In fact some of the greatest players in the history of the game have had bad attitudes or skeletons in their closet. But maybe the problem just stems from the fact that A-Rod is not a likable person.
Should that have an effect on the monumental achievement that is 600 home runs? No.
But does it? Yes.
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