You are responsible for a lot of things in life. As a sports fan, one of those things is remembering the greats and the great moments of your lifetime. In baseball, there is always that magical player or moment that you remember forever.
One of the best things about baseball for me is holding on to all of the great memories and carrying them with me to pass on to others. If and when the day comes, I will tell a story about the greatest baseball player I ever saw, Alex Rodriguez.
Is Alex Rodriguez the greatest of all-time?
Stats show he very well could be. But sometimes numbers aren't everything. Winning championships and the way a player carries himself can determine most sports fans' feelings towards a player and his spot in history.
I am not ready to place Alex in the greatest ever category, but as far as players that have played in my lifetime, he is hands down the best, period. While most of this can be a personal preference or opinion, I would like to share a few things with you about him that could change your mind.
The first thing you need to do is separate any of your baseball feelings with Alex on any off-field matters. Rather, it's a controversial commercial, marital affairs, or any other non-baseball related issues, it's not important.
We are all human and things happen sometimes we can't explain or prevent. What Alex Rodriguez does off the baseball field, and the way he carries himself can be looked at in a lot of ways. I choose to remain positive about him as a good person and haven't seen enough proof that he isn't.
The media today is a lot worse than it was in the past. I would argue that if Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle had this much media attention, they would possibly break or make a mistake that the media would pounce on.
The main point I am trying to make is that it's all about making a story or a headline in today's media. If A-Rod donates to a charity or reads a book to a group of children, you most likely won't hear about it.
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But because of today's media, I got to give Alex the benefit of the doubt that he is a good person, but I don't know the guy, I'm just a fan. But the media doesn't give us a chance to get to know anything good about him, it's not their job to do that.
Some of the negative comments towards Alex Rodriguez are his failure to produce in the playoffs or in the clutch. Also, the fact that he hasn't won a ring...yet. Alex's postseason numbers aren't as bad as people want to make you think. With the way people talk, you would think he isn't even hitting the ball out of the infield.
Alex stays pretty quiet for the most part about the judgement, but he will speak his mind every now and then. He had this to say to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com in May of 2006,
"I could care less. In my career, I've been hearing it for a long time. It will never stop until you win five or six World Series in a row, and hit a Joe Carter home run. I've done a lot of special things in this game, and for none of that to be considered clutch, it's an injustice. I don't take anything personally; I enjoy it, it motivates me and I think it's comical. I think [for] anyone that drives in over 130 runs numerous times in his career, it's impossible not to be clutch."
In 10 postseason series and 39 games, Alex Rodriguez is a career .279 hitter in the playoffs and has hit seven home runs and has 17 runs batted in. He also has more hits than strikeouts.
The numbers that stand out to me the most are during the 2004 postseason. The collapse of the Yankees that season in A-Rod's first year in pinstripes was out of his hands. He performed very well during that postseason. He hit three home runs and knocked in eight runners and only struck out seven times in 50 at-bats.
Last season, against the Cleveland Indians, Alex was homer-less until a solo shot in the ninth inning of Game Four in the Bronx, when the Indians already had the game put away. It was also his only RBI of the series.
But the entire team didn't hit well at all most of the series. Derek Jeter only hit .176 with an RBI for example. It was an all-around bad team effort last season, but it only made things worse for Alex's criticism as the spotlight shines on him.
As for Derek Jeter, he however, has some postseason numbers Alex drools over. Hitting a lifetime .377 in October and even has a November home run to go with that for extra measure. His rings and respect in New York is something Alex, lacks but that doesn't make him a bad player.
Alex Rodriguez is well on his way to being our all-time home run leader. He has crushed 539 home runs thus far, with his Black Smith Finish Louisville Slugger. The youngest ever to do so, so quickly. Do you realize that Alex is on pace to pass every leader of the four major offensive categories? He has more home runs (Barry Bonds), RBI (Hank Aaron), runs (Rickey Henderson), and hits (Pete Rose) than the all-time leaders of those stats did prior to the age of 31 years.
After the All-Star break, heading into what looks like to be another possible postseason appearence for the New York Yankees in 2008, Alex Rodriguez will continue to go out there and do his job to the best of his ability.
I personally think that the numbers will continue to grow, and he will get that elusive championship ring, maybe even a few. Only time will tell, but I am honored to watch Alex Rodriguez play baseball and can't wait to tell stories about it years down the road.
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about 1 month ago
He's definitely one of the greatest players I've seen play in my lifetime. Even though Albert Pujols is my personal favorite, it is just a pleasure to watch Arod play. It reminds me a lot (besides the off-field issues) of when Michael Jordan was playing the 90's. You loved every chance you got to see him play because you knew that at some point, you weren't going to be able to.
about 1 month ago
Good article, Michael. Far too often, jealousy drives people to write and say things negative about A-Rod, despite the fact that he will end his career as one of the greatest ever to play the game.
about 1 month ago
Based on pure stats then yes, he'll end up as one of the best... but unless he figures out a way to play well in September and October he'll always have that hanging over his head
about 1 month ago
You wrote that his postseason avg is .279 with 7 hr and 17 rbi in 39 games. For his career he's .307 and in just under 2000 games he has over 1500 rbi and over 500 HR's. Which makes his per game rates roughly .75 RBI/game and .25 HR/game in the regular season which drops to .18 HR/game and .49 RBI/game in the playoffs...to put it another way, ARod doesn't put the fear of god in me when he's up in late game pressure situations. David Ortiz (I'm in no way shape or form a Sox fan) on the other hand scares the hell out of me.
Barring injury he'll probably end up with the HR title, but I view him much like like Aaron. A great player, but not the greatest of his era, and certainly not of all time.
from about 1 month ago
If hes not the greatest player of his era? who is? A-Rod is not only an outstanding hitter, but also a gold-glove caliber player at 2 positions. Cant say that for Big Papi. But he does fold in post season, but all the Yankees do.
about 1 month ago
Robert, I do realize that regular season and post-season numbers combined make him .307. I was just talking about playoffs only, nothing during the season I was discussing there, I was making a point about just the playoffs. But you make valid points and I respect your opinion.
about 1 month ago
"...players that have played in my lifetime, he is hands down the best, period..."
Um, no. In the conversation? Absolutely. The best? Possibly. "Hands down"? Not even close. Here is a list of players who have played in your lifetime who also have a rightful place in the discussion:
Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Rickey Henderson, Greg Maddux, Pete Rose, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Mike Schmidt, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez, etc.
And that's just off the top of my head! There are probably others I'm forgetting. Point is, "hands down" is just silly. Now, as for your argument, I'll agree that A-Rod has a good chance at being recognized as the best ever when he's done. But right now? No. My votes?
Best player in your lifetime? Barry Bonds.
Best player ever? Willie Mays, beating out Stan Musial by a nose.
In fact, since you're such a Yankee homer, I'd put him, at best, #6 Yankee all-time right now, behind Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, and Ford. You could even make a strong argument to put Berra and Rivera ahead of him.
Bottom line? He has to win at least one World Series, minimum, before anyone can consider him the best ever.
from about 1 month ago
Daniel, picking articles apart sentence-by-sentence and parsing words is just a dumb, cheap debate tactic that ultimately turns these comment boards into all-out flame wars that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. The guy obviously wrote an opinion piece, and it should be taken in its proper context. It's not like he stated that he can scientifically prove that A-Rod is the best player he's ever seen play.
from about 1 month ago
*Claps* My sentiments exactly Jeff.
Because this is somewhat of a message board, the comments are all about the words you type. It's one thing to respectfully disagree with someone's opinion piece but, it's another thing entirely to say that person is wrong outright and not back it up.
Stating that a player is the best of all time (or at least going to be) is going to attract attention and that's what controversial articles do. If fact, I applaud writers taking a stance and backing it up. This writer did just that and what unjustifiably attacked for his opinion.
Now, if someone disagreed with him and they wrote a piece about it. That's fine. It's "respectfully disagreeing" because obviously not everyone has the same opinions.
about 1 month ago
Daniel, you make some good points and name some great players but you are just stating your opinion as I am entitled to mine. When A-Rod passes Bonds in HR's in plenty games fewer then him barring any big injury god forbid, then where do you put A-Rod. This article is my opinion just like most articles are opinions supported by facts. I am looking into the future and saying A-Rod is the best I have ever seen. With the numbers he has put up in the short time he has done so, I think he is.
As far as being one of the best Yankees, he isn't yet at all considered one of the best Yankees because of the time he put in with the Mariners and Rangers. But with some more years under his belt as a Yankee that could change. Again, only time will tell. I'm predicting he moves up the ladder.
Your last sentence contradicts you picking Bonds now doesn't it, how many rings does he have?
about 1 month ago
Jeff - I'm not parsing words. My mantra has always been "Say what you mean, mean what you say." Saying "hands down" is an implication that it's not even up for debate. My point is that indeed, there is a basis for discussion.
Micheal, I agree that A-Rod will end up being more highly regarded than Bonds. When will that point be? I can't say for sure. Definitely when he gets to 763 (assuming he does), and probably before.
And no, I didn't contradict myself. I said that winning a title is a prerequisite for GOAT. Not greatest in your lifetime.
from about 1 month ago
Many people consider Dan Marino one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and he never won a championship. Likewise, many players who were only back-ups won a title because they were only on championship teams. I don't see how you can consider winning a championship as the benchmark to start talking about a player being one of the greatest of all-time because it just skews the argument by including undeserving players and excluding potential HOFers.
about 1 month ago
These are the lines of whom I think is the greatest player of all time.
94-46 with a 2.28 era, 29 consecutive scoreless innings in the World Series
.342 BA with an OBP of .469, 714 HR, and 2213 RBI's, .690 slugging, and 1.164 OPS.
He appeared in 10 World Series, winning 7 (3 with the Red Sox, 4 with the Yanks)
This man was clutch as a pitcher and a hitter, and in my opinion the greatest ballplayer to ever play.
The Sultan of Swat
Babe Ruth
about 1 month ago
I am not going to disagree with that. Also, have of the players you mentioned I was too young to remember, Rose, I wasn't even alive. Again, this article is just my opinion and the main basis behind this article is what A-Rod could wind up doing... which is leading 3 or 4 of the main all-time hitting catagories and the fact that he does need to win that elusive ring like I mentioned. But still, for my money, the players I have seen play with my own eyes, he is the best to me.
about 1 month ago
Ricky, nice stats to go with your opinion and he is indeed impressive with the hitting and pitching numbers, he could very well be the best ever and I am sure a lot would agree with you. He is of course to this point in time, as I speak, greater then A-Rod was, so far. However, A-Rod has some years left and he has a decent shot to change a few peoples minds.
I do wish I could of seen the likes of Ruth, Mays, Gehrig, Mantle, Williams play the game. But there are people who saw Ruth play who aren't around to see what I am blessed to see.
about 1 month ago
I place Ruth so far ahead of every other player, it ain't even close. Greatest ever.
about 1 month ago
I don't think any player in modern day baseball has the ability to pass Babe Ruth. It is not just about the numbers. Babe Ruth set the MLB record for home runs at the time with 29. He changed baseball like no player. While with Boston, he was primarily a pitcher and led them to their three World Championships by doing that.
I am not saying ARod won't be one of the best. He just won't be the best. Passing someone in home runs doesn't make you a better player, just a better home run hitter, but that isnt even true many times. Babe Ruth homered once every 11.76 at bats. Out of his 21 years five had home run totals of 11 and under (26 total). So in the other 16 seasons, he hit 43 hr/per.
Alex hits a home run every 14.19 AB, and has a career average of .307. His stats are just no way comparable to the stats of Ruth.
Once again, that is my opinion. I do believe he is the best player that I have seen, but I believe that could be in jeopardy with Pujols and Cabrera (if he loses weight).
from about 1 month ago
I definitely agree about Pujols, if anyone can challenge to be the best of my generation..it's him.
about 1 month ago
in short, no he isn't
from about 1 month ago
A-Rod is definitely not the best player in any era. His true position is shortstop and he plays third base on a team with the worst fielding shortstop in the league in every statistical category.
about 1 month ago
Micheal - Actually, Rose did play during your lifetime.
Derek - I never "attacked" Micheal, nor did I espouse my beliefs without backing them up. And your argument about including undeserved players is flawed. Of course I don't think that, for example, Robert Horry is the greatest basketball player ever because he's won seven titles. I believe that you sort out great players based on their numbers/aura/position, etc., and then use championships as a tie-breaker. After all, the whole point of playing the game is to win, and how can you be considered GOAT if you never once ended your season with a victory?
Ricky - Certainly Ruth is right up there. My premise for not considering him GOAT is that his numbers were inflated by playing exclusively against whites. Was he the greatest of his era? Without question. But I think his numbers would've compared disfavorably to Mays' had he played during the same period. And if you go on an all-around basis, Ruth was nowhere near the defensive player of Mays' caliber.
from about 1 month ago
Rose played until 1986 and according to Micheal's profile he was born in 1983. That hardly qualifies Rose as playing during his lifetime. Sure, people can see his older games being played through ESPN classic and other sites. Sure, generations overlap and players transcend through the decades.
The point here is that I really don't see how you can include players to be the GOAT into someone's generation when they barely were even alive. It's subjective I know but, lets be realistic.
To me, being born in 1984, I consider the years of the mid-90's to the present as players that have played in my lifetime because I was aware of the sport and followed it. Not to mention that people who have personally seen and met players have a bigger connection to them (hence Micheal's admiration of Arod).
from about 1 month ago
"Bottom line? He has to win at least one World Series, minimum, before anyone can consider him the best ever."
That doesn't sound like a tie-breaker to me, it sounds like a benchmark. Maybe it's just semantics but I don't see it that way.
about 1 month ago
But don't you know, Brett? Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove! That means he's a great fielder!
/sarcasm
In case you couldn't tell, I think Jeter is one of the most overrated athletes, possibly ever.
from about 1 month ago
I won't even get into this argument with you however, I will say I respectfully disagree.
about 1 month ago
Once again, read what he said. He said "during my lifetime." I take people's words at face value. Now if his intention was to say, "Since I've been watching sports," then yes, I agree with you. But if that's what he intended, why didn't he say that?
Since we're on the topic, make your argument for Jeter to me.
from about 1 month ago
I did read it and here's what it says, "I will tell a story about the greatest baseball player I ever SAW.."
He never saw Pete Rose play, how could he? Watching someone on a replayed old video is clearly not the same as watching someone play in person. I assume you would agree.
Maybe if you actually thought about the words he put instead of just taking them at face value we could have avoided this entire argument.
from about 1 month ago
Another topic for another time. There's already been several articles written about Jeter being overrated soon after the Sports Illustrated article came out several weeks ago.
about 1 month ago
Yes, but later he said "as far as players that have played in my lifetime, he is hands down the best, period."
If you don't take words at face value, how else do you take them? If you don't mean what you say, you can later twist yours and others' words around to mean whatever you want. That is why I quibble so much over semantics.
I don't understand the worship at the altar of Jeter. He was never, at any point, even close to being the best player in the game, let alone the best player at his position.
from about 1 month ago
Again, I won't get into the argument about Jeter on here, it's off topic and disrespectful to the original poster.
To me, I was trying to see the article through the writer's eyes, not my own. I was trying to relate to how they wrote and I try to delve a little deeper, that's all. The whole article is an opinion and people are entitled to disagree with him and I just wanted to show that I agreed.
about 1 month ago
Well, Willie Mays played against mostly whites and blacks, so I guess since Barry would have to be considered better since he played against more Central Americans, Asians, and Canadiens.
That just sounds ludacris to me. It is my opinion, and one that I share with many people. In no way shape or form will I say that Willie Mays isn't deserving to be in the conversation.
You did mention his glove. What about Ruth's arm. Many people disregard his pitching statistics. I don't think that is a fair way to look at it. He could have won 300-400 games as a pitcher. Yet, he became the games first power hitter.
The guy was a HOF type force on both sides.
about 1 month ago
"Based on pure stats then yes, he'll end up as one of the best... but unless he figures out a way to play well in September and October he'll always have that hanging over his head"
I disagree on both points. Postseason is a crapshoot and no one should be judged by it. But based on stats that actually measure offensive production rather than surrounding talent such as OBP, SLG, OPS, etc. Rodriguez is not a top ten player. More like a top 20 guy.
about 1 month ago
Guys, its just Micheals' opinion. You cant say that someone is wrong about their opinion unless they are stating it as a fact of life. He said that A-Rod is the best player HE has ever seen, just like some have mentioned that Pujols is the best they've ever seen. I personally think Edgar Martinez was the best hitter i've ever seen, even though many people would disagree with me, im entitled to my own opinion.
Theres one thing that nobody on this thread can say. That Babe Ruth is the best player they've ever seen.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Ben.
3 days ago
The greatest would be albert pujols
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