As the American Baseball Writers Association – and perhaps the Baseball Hall of Fame – is almost over with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, there is an even more complicated figure to arrive: Alex Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is set to vote for the first time later this year, along with another slugger with a dubious past – David Ortiz, who has denied any use of steroids.
Rodriguez said two years ago that he plans to get Bonds and Clemens to Cooperstown.
“Of course, I want them to come in, because that would mean I have a chance to come in one day,” Rodriguez told ESPN.
May be.
Bonds and Clemens are two of the most notorious steroid cheaters in baseball history, but they have nothing on Rodriguez, who admitted to using PED while with the Rangers in 2001-03 and was suspended for the 2014 season due to his role. in the Biogenesis scandal. , which included not only steroids, but also lawsuits against baseball and the Yankees – which were eventually abandoned.
Even before his retirement in 2016, Rodriguez began working to rehabilitate his image and was successful enough that he still has a baseball face like anyone else.
And his reputation improved enough that he saw everything from ESPN, to Fox Business to the inauguration of Joe Biden, where he accompanied his fiancée Jennifer Lopez.
How this translates into votes for the chamber is under debate.
And he clearly hopes that public shame will not disqualify him from entering.
“Look, I pray every day, I have the opportunity to come in,” Rodriguez said in 2019. “The Hall of Fame is the ultimate place. If you think about Roger and Barry specifically … if you stopped your career at the age of 33 or 34, they were both the first vote [Hall of Famers] and then the noise [about PEDs] It started. To me it’s just a shame. I’m definitely happy for both of us. I really like both of them. They’re both friends and I’m in their corner. ”
Rodriguez’s field credentials are impeccable, with 696 shares, 3,115 hits, three AL MVP awards and 14 All-Star appearances.
But while his 22-season career rivals the best in history, his sins probably outweigh any other player.
“I made my case when I made my mistakes,” Rodriguez told ESPN. “I will have to go to bed. I still hope I can get in one day. ”