Alex Rodriguez Is A Bad Landlord: Rats Found In The Slugger’s Tampa Building

Looks like Alex Rodriguez has more than just a bad hip.

WTSP in Tampa, FL is reporting that property owned and rented out by Rodriguez’s Newport Property Ventures has rats, rotting wood, mold, poor drainage, shaky balconies and roaches. Some residents have even compared their living situation to that of a slum.

This is not the first time Alex Rodriguez has been in hot water for these poor living conditions. In 2007 the New York Times published an article about the same property in Tampa. Then tenant Miguel Ruiz had this to say:

“My mom comes here and she ain’t no rich person, but she thinks I live in the projects.”

And after pulling a young boy out of a gap between some broken stairs and the wall Ruiz said:

“Honestly, I was raised in a ghetto and I was brought up a little better than this.”

Maybe this time things will change. The Tampa Fire Marshall recently paid a visit to the property and noted code violations including an improperly locked driveway gate at the back of the complex. On second thought, maybe things won’t change.

When reached for questions property managers referred media outlets to their corporate offices. Those calls went unreturned.

The plight of these Newport Property residents looks to be another case of the extremely wealthy taking advantage of the lower class for profit. Alex Rodriguez makes $27.5 million a year for the New York Yankees, so money is clearly not a problem. He will miss most of next season after undergoing hip surgery, and I’m sure a number of residents hope the doctors take a look to see if something is missing from his heart as well.