The New York Yankees are not going to pay designated hitter Alex Rodriguez for tying and passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list, although it is stated in his contract that he should receive a $6 million bonus for each milestone that he passes.
On May 3, Rodriguez tied Willie Mays with a go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox, silencing the booing crowd at Fenway Park.
Later that week on May 7 against the Baltimore Orioles, he hit his 661st home run over the center field wall, moving him to fourth place on the all-time home run list.
As a Yankees and A-Rod fan, I’m putting my morals and personal feelings aside to agree with the decision that the Yankees should not pay him for his milestones.
In his contract it was also stated, “It’s the sole discretion of the New York Yankees to determine whether each of these milestones is commercially marketable as the home-run chase. The Yankees have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether it’s a commercially marketable milestone.”
So basically the Yankees don’t have to pay him for such a big accomplishment because of his previous suspension and wrongdoing as not only a baseball player, but an athlete and a public figure.
Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 regular season and postseason, after he was found to be using illegal performance-enhancing substances in the MLB’s Biogenesis scandal.
As a punishment, he also gave up $22 million of his $25 million base salary.
Rodriguez pointed out that he has never tested positive for PEDs, though he did admit in 2009 that he used steroids from 2001 through 2003.
Fourteen other players also received sions on “non-analytical” grounds as part of the Biogenesis investigation.
Rodriguez faced the harshest penalty because, according to reports, the MLB believed he had not only used PEDs, but actively attempted to interfere with their investigation and did not have an orderly attitude. Rodriguez has maintained his innocence in the scandal. He sued MLB, then-commissioner Bud Selig and the players’ association, but then withdrew the suits and apologized for his actions.
Honestly, if he made the wrong move, he should own up to that mistake. He should just take responsibility for doing it and take his punishment, not try to fight it and then retract his argument because then that makes him look dumb.
Despite passing Willie Mays, without the use of steroids, those other home runs to get him there would not exist in the first place.
This season, the 21-year veteran and three-time AL MVP is batting .246 with 10 home runs and 22 RBIs.
Though he has apologized for disappointing not only the fans and the league, many will not forget what he has done wrong.
I was disappointed when I found out about his steroid use, but at the same time, I will not be subjected to judge the type of player he is now. I’m not going to judge him by his past mistakes.
It makes me angry for him to do such a thing and forgiving him isn’t easy, though it needs to be let go and we need to move on from the issue.
I love the Yankees as a team, as they continue to do better this season and so does A-Rod, though people may or may not like him and have strong feelings for him.
I believe that he should be given a second chance and give him a chance to do better this season and I feel that he is doing just that.
Despite being a Yankees fan, I still believe he does not deserve to be paid for this milestone. He does not deserve the benefit of being paid for home runs that he did not earn on his own, though he should still wear his pinstripes with pride.
Jolene Nacapuy, a junior journalism major, is sports editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by email at jolene.nacapuy@laverne.edu and on Twitter @_jjolenenacapuy.
