Can you ever recall less attention paid to a baseball player closing in on 3,000 hits?
There was a time ESPN would have broken into any programming to follow that chase. Now, that kind of coverage has largely fallen to MLB Network and they did cut into Thursday night’s Yankees-Marlins game to see if Alex Rodriguez would become the 29th player in baseball history to reach that milestone.
Rodriguez will likely get hit No. 3000 Friday night (perhaps against Justin Verlander) or at some point during this weekend’s three-game set with the Tigers, having been deprived of the opportunity to do so in his final plate appearance Thursday when Marlins pitcher Sam Dyson walked him on four straight pitches, none of which was particularly close to the strike zone.
via MLB.com Gameday
As you might expect, fans at Yankee Stadium weren’t too happy about Dyson pitching around A-Rod and avoiding the possibility of giving up the historic hit.
Following the game, the right-hander insisted that he was trying to get Rodriguez out, though his four pitches way inside would indicate otherwise. Maybe he thought he could get A-Rod to chase. Or, since Rodriguez was 2-for-3 before that at-bat and Chase Headley was on base, perhaps Dyson wanted to prevent the Yankees’ DH from driving in another run. It’s also possible that the reliever just had a bad night, allowing four runs on two hits and two walks while only retiring one batter.
What might have been surreal for Rodriguez was to see and hear the fans truly on his side, both rooting for him to reach a milestone achievement and jeering Dyson for depriving everyone of a special moment. It wasn’t so long ago when many were wondering whether Yankees fans would support A-Rod or just want him to go away. Of course, you’d figure fans of other teams in other cities would express their disapproval with boos. Rodriguez had become one of baseball’s great villains, a threat to the integrity of the game we all love.
Yet Yankees fans were eventually going to cheer for A-Rod, right? He’s one of their guys. He wears the pinstripes. If he played well, he could help the Yanks make the playoffs. At the very least, there would be a grudging acceptance. Yeah, he’s a cheater and he’s destroyed his legacy. But he could hit some home runs too!
Crowd was on its feet and loud here at the Stadium as A-Rod came up, flew out going for 3,000. More buzz that you might have expected.
— John Harper (@NYDNHarper) June 19, 2015
Then Rodriguez upset the accepted narrative by playing well. He’s now batting .278 with an .888 OPS, 12 homers and 34 RBI. Only Mark Teixeira has better overall numbers. A-Rod isn’t just a guy who can crank a few balls out of the park; he’s one of the Yankees’ best hitters this season.
And though his home run totals are disgraced, saturated in controversy because the Yankees are disputing having to pay Rodriguez for tying, then surpassing, Willie Mays’ 660 homers, he’s also reaching some numbers that we’ve always believed are meaningful. And that’s a reminder that, regardless of what we now know, A-Rod is a player of significance.
That was on the verge of being acknowledged Thursday night in the Bronx, which is why the people were standing, cheering and holding out their smartphones to record the moment, to say they were there when Rodriguez got his 3000th hit. Moments like this are why we’re baseball fans.
Unfortunately, because Rodriguez has tarnished all of his achievements and made us feel like fools for believing in his greatness, when he gets hit No. 3000, it will be only a moment. It won’t be an occasion. It certainly won’t be an event. If the milestone hit comes on a home run, as it did for teammate Derek Jeter, the moment will linger longer among the fans at Yankee Stadium and those watching on TV. Maybe it will warrant a mention on morning TV, so your mother might ask if you saw A-Rod get his 3000th hit.
:NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 17: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees stands on first base against the Miami Marlins during their game at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
But there won’t be much afterglow. The moment will quickly fade. A-Rod was supposed to be more than a significant player. He was supposed to be one of the greatest of all time. Maybe the greatest, by the time his career had finished.
Now, however, Rodriguez has attached a permanent “Yeah, but…” to the end of his baseball résumé. He could move into the top 20 of MLB’s all-time hits leaders by the end of this season, passing names such as Wade Boggs, Craig Biggio, and Rickey Henderson. Up next would be the likes of Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount. With two more years left on his contract, A-Rod could reach the top 10. And already fourth on the all-time RBI list, Rodriguez will probably finish among the top two and possibly overtake Hank Aaron for the No. 1 spot.
Even with an asterisk next to them, those are amazing numbers. Those are achievements we really used to care about. And for the right guy, maybe we’ll eventually care about them again. But in A-Rod’s case, they’re essentially greeted with a shrug. (Yeah, but…) There aren’t any special commercials or promotions for Friday’s game on MLB Network. It’s a game between the Yankees and Tigers, two perennial American League powers. And maybe one of the hosts will mention that Rodriguez could get his 3000th hit. (Oh, by the way…)
Damn, wasn’t it more fun when we believed in the guy we were watching? When we actually cheered for a guy to make history? A-Rod may have gone from being a villain to nearly becoming a sympathetic figure. But no matter what, this isn’t what it could have been. And that’s the shame of it all.
