David Ortiz On Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod Is Clean ‘As Far As We Know’
The controversy that New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez has garnered during his time in New York has been immense. He will likely always have people questioning the legitimacy of his every move. Now, you can add Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to that seemingly never-ending list of doubters.
Ortiz spoke to the New York Post prior to the Yankees’ 13-3 drubbing of the Red Sox on Tuesday evening. While he did offer praise for his former friend, the praise sounded more like a back-handed compliment as he eluded to the troubled slugger’s issues with performance enhancing drugs.
“It is what it is. The guy is playing the right way now — as far as we know. He’s having a good season and doing the right thing. I guess that deserves credit.”
Rodriguez missed the entire 2014 season– serving a 162-game suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal that rocked Major League Baseball. But the former three-time MVP served his suspension and has returned in 2015, looking like the A-Rod of old.
In 98 games, Rodriguez is batting.281 with 24 HR and 62 RBI as the Yankees’ primary No. 3 hitter. It’s the best statistical season Rodriguez has posted since 2010, when he hit.270 with 30 HR and 125 RBI.
In Ortiz’s mind, he wasn’t sure that Rodriguez would be capable of posting such a positive rebound season. Considering he just turned 40, has two surgically repaired hips, and missed an entire year, him replicating the success of five years ago was a daunting task indeed.
“He’s having a good season. Me, personally, I thought having a year off and getting older was something that would affect you, but he looks good to me.”
Ortiz will turn 40 later this year. As the Red Sox sit in last place in the American League East division, he is posting similar but inferior numbers to Rodriguez in 2015. Through 97 games, Ortiz is batting.244 with 20 HR and 59 RBI for a struggling team, something he claims has been “very frustrating.” However, calling out a player over his past use of PEDs’ is the pot calling the kettle black, for Ortiz.
In 2009, both he and then teammate Manny Ramirez were revealed to have failed a drug test. The two legendary fan-favorites of Fenway were guilty for using the exact same substances that Rodriguez has been vilified and hated for using. Trying to save face, Ortiz has since vehemently denied ever taking steroids “knowingly.” Anyway he tries to spin it, Ortiz is guilty and for some reason, it has been shoved under the rug and forgotten about.
[Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images]
