STORY BY ELYSE WHEATON
Alex Rodriguez, more commonly known as A-Rod, one of the New York Yankees heaviest hitters, is coming back to the world of baseball.
He was suspended the whole 2014 season after it was uncovered that he was receiving performance-enhancing drugs from a clinic in South Florida.
Rodriguez received the longest suspension Major League Baseball (MLB) has ever handed down.
This repeat offender is going to find it extremely difficult to get the fans and coaches back on his side due to his major break of the rules.
Rodriguez has been caught doping before so when he was caught and suspended for a whole year many were happy, including myself.
Baseball is all about who can hit hardest and run the fastest, naturally, not by taking illegal drugs.
It is America’s favorite pastime, often being seen as the good sport where people follow the rules and Rodriguez broke the rules.
His use of steroids has completely wrecked any credibility he may have had.
His credibility was minimal though, because this was not the first time he has been caught doping.
Along with having no credibility, he really can not be trusted.
How would any coach trust that he would not take these drugs after he had no issues doing it before?
The extensive investigation that ensued after he failed a drug test let the world know that he was a liar.
He hadn’t just taken them a few times, but it was revealed that he got performance enhancing drugs regularly from a South Florida doctor.
The doctor later testified that Rodriguez was on of his best customers.
With no credibility and no trust in him, he is not much more than a liability.
New York Yankees management has come out and said they aren’t overly excited that he’s back.
Rodriguez is only allowed back because he is in the midst of a 10 year, 275 million contract with the Yankees.
He was suspended one year without pay, but he is still bound to the contract and the Yankees must honor this.
This is good for him seeing that the Yankees still owe him $61 million for the last three years of his contract, but it puts Yankees management in a position they don’t want.
Numerous reports have stated they don’t want him anymore, saying they will refuse to pay him homerun bonuses even if he achieves them.
I completely see where they are coming from.
Rodriguez has made it clear that he is going after Barry Bonds all time record of 762 homeruns in his career.
At 39 years old and with three years left in his contract with the Yankees, Rodriguez is sitting at 654 homeruns.
Many believe he should have some (or most) of those homeruns wiped off his record because they were achieved when he was taking performance enhancing drugs, which is not fair.
Rodriguez can’t justifiably beat a legend’s record after he admitted he was cheating.
Rodriguez does have some support, though.
Yankees fans are die-hard fans and they support their players no matter what.
That’s why they are also considered one of the most-hated baseball teams.
Many argue that he just happened to be one of the players who got caught and owned it.
They argue that there are many other ball players in the MLB that dope just as much as he did and are still getting paid.
The only difference is that these other players never got caught.
I do not condone the use of performance enhancing drugs.
If the league wants to show that they are trying to make it more fair by disciplining those who are caught using performance enhancing drugs they then need to show that one will be punished to the fullest extent.
I strongly believe they need to take back the hits he got while it was proven that he was using because he achieved those while taking drugs prohibited by the MLB.
