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Alex Rodriguez To Be Released From The Yankees, Will Retire And Stay On As Advisor

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 14:21 PST, Aug 7, 2016

Alex Rodriguez announced at a press conference earlier today that his career in baseball will be over next Friday at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rodriguez made the announcement of his retirement prior to the Yankees playing the Cleveland Indians. Alex Rodriguez stated that he will remain with the Yankees as an advisor and team instructor.

At 41-years-old, Alex Rodriguez has been relegated to being only a designated hitter for the Yankees. So far this season, Rodriguez is only hitting.204 with nine home runs and a minuscule 29 runs batted in. Alex’s most recent slump caused the Yankees to make him ride the bench for a while in the hopes that some rest would help the aging All-Star. It did not. At the press conference, Rodriguez commented on whether he thinks he could still play in the majors.

“Of course I think I can play baseball. You always think you have one more hit in you. That wasn’t in the cards. That was the Yankees decision and I’m at peace with it.”

The New York Yankees are entering a rebuilding phase and Rodriguez does not fit the mold that they Yankees are building towards. Their moves at the trade deadline made it clear that they are looking to get younger.

Alex Rodriguez made his major league debut in 1994 with the Seattle Mariners. At just 18-years-old, his talent was obvious even though he did not stay in the majors long that year playing only 17 games before going back down to the minors. It would not be until 1996 that he would be in the majors for good.

For the 1996-1997 season, Alex Rodriguez was named the starting shortstop for the Seattle Mariners. In his first full major league season, Rodriguez showed how talented he was by hitting.358 with 36 home runs and 123 runs batted in. Alex’s numbers in the 1997-1998 season were down slightly. But he would come back with a vengeance in the 1998-1999 season.

In this season, Alex set the home run record for a shortstop with 42 home runs. Those 42 home runs went along with 46 stolen bases making him a member of the very elite 40-40 club. He would go on to be a force in Seattle for the next couple of seasons until he became a free agent.

The Texas Rangers offered Alex Rodriguez $252 million over 10-years. While a member of the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez solidified himself as one of the best power hitters in baseball. He became one of the favorites to break the all-time home run record. He would not finish his 10-year contract with Texas. Rodriguez only played for them from 2001-2003.

The New York Yankees made a huge move by acquiring Alex prior to the 2004 season. While he spent his entire career as a shortstop, the Yankees had Derek Jeter and he was not going to be leaving the shortstop position. Alex Rodriguez became a third basemen. Beside moving positions, Rodriguez had to change his number since the number three was retired by the Yankees since it belonged to Babe Ruth.

With the Yankees, Alex’s power numbers remained steady. He was quickly finding himself moving up on the all-time hit list and all-time home run list. His 10-year contract ended after the 2007 season. He re-signed with the Yankees for a contract worth $275 million over 10 years.

A couple years after resigning with the Yankees, in 2009, it was discovered that Alex Rodrigues had tested positive at some point for performance enhancing drugs. Rodriguez would continue adding to his Hall of Fame numbers, finally winning a World Series in 2009.

Alex’s steroid use caught up with him and cost him the entire 2014 season when he was suspended. When he came back in 2015, it was obvious that his career was not going to be lasting much longer. With only a few games left in his career, Alex Rodriguez has career numbers of.295, 3,114 hits, 696 home runs, and 2,084 runs batted in.

Do you think Alex Rodriguez will stay retired? Will he end up in the Hall of Fame, or will his steroid use prevent him from immortality?

[Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Photo, File]

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