He’s back, baseball’s fungus.
There he is, smarming and marring the grand old game, rankling and rattling history.
Suspended for 2014 due to doping, it would’ve been fitting if Alex Rodriguez had just stayed away and decayed. But he’s back, and you know what, he’s not bombing in the Bronx; no, he’s bombing in the Bronx, homering like in the gold ol’ doping days. Ugh.
Yes, we live in a country of second chances, but this just feels wrong. And now, the New York Yankees slugger is approaching a milestone that even the Yankees aren’t interested in celebrating. Rodriguez, who turns 40 in July, is two home runs from 660, which means three and he’s fourth all time. In his contract, it states the Yankees must pay him $6 million for reaching fourth (and an additional $6 million each time he surpasses another legend on the list). But the Yankees want to pay him $0, noting that his performance was enhanced for many of the home runs. So the team isn’t even promoting the inevitable milestone — as explained in a New York Times article Friday, the Yankees don’t list the 660 in their upcoming milestones, but the team did promote that Brett Gardner, with 185 stolen bases, was one from the immortal Wid Conroy for sixth place in team history.
It’s a peculiar dynamic involving the dynamic Rodriguez, who, because of this history chase, has an impeding weird collision. He will be bedfellows in the 660 club with Willie Mays.
Have there ever been more opposite icons? Mays, the beloved Say Hey Kid, forever smiling; Rod- riguez, bedeviled “A-Roid,” forever snarling.
Sure, it’s quite arguable that Rodriguez, a prodigy, was a better talent than even Mays, the benchmark for versatility in baseball. But he’s forever tainted for tainting the game.
“Obviously everyone will question it, as they will,” Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado said of A-Rod’s home run total. “But at the same time, he’s probably worked hard for what he’s done. It’s not easy to do what he’s doing. … He’s been in the game for a long time and been good in the game for a long time.”
Of course, with these records, we try in our heads to compartmentalize. We say things such as, “Well, Barry Bonds was a superstar even before he did steroids.” Or, “Rod- riguez was clearly a phenom from the beginning of his career.” This week, Sports Illustrated ran a story on its website with the headline: “How many home runs would A-Rod have if he had stayed healthy, clean?”
But we can all agree the numbers these players put up are not the numbers they would’ve put up sans performance-enhancing drugs. So it’s flustering and deflating when A-Rod thus approaches Mays’ sturdy 660.
“Willie, we’re talking about one of the greatest players of all time,’ said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, in town this weekend. “I think you look at A-Rod, it’s a different era. These guys are hitting more home runs now. And now, with longevity, you’re going to see more and more guys get in the 500-home run club. I think it is a little different. It’s still amazing.”
The good news is, it brings the legends back into our lives for a few moments. A-Rod’s quest puts the greatness of Mays in proper perspective. At least we get to remember the stories once more, before Rodriguez pushes Mays down a slot on the immortal list.
“Willie Mays, he’s baseball, not just the Giants,” said former all-star Shawon Dunston, a former Giants player and current coach. “He’s what baseball is about. He’ll go out there, have a good time and play the game right. He’s always happy, and we always tease him because he got two or three hits every game. He’s just an encyclopedia — you can go talk about baseball and he’ll tell you everything.
“Willie Mays is Willie Mays. Period.”
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
