Alex Rodriguez Gambling Scandal: Power Ranking His 5 Most Controversial Moments

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Alex Rodriguez has gone through a lot of controversy throughout his career. Some of these instances have occurred on the field, while others have occurred off of it.

All of these events have helped justify the "A-Fraud" nickname. Rodriguez is undoubtedly one of the best players in the history of the game, but he has had his fair share of issues.

5) Alex Rodriguez: Half Man, Half Horse?

This instance is more weird than controversial, but it led to a lot of questions about Rodriguez.

Having one painting of a centaur above your bed would be odd enough. Two is very excessive. Rodriguez has two centaur paintings where he is the upper half of the creature.

This information was used to show that Rodriguez is incredibly vain. What other explanation is there for having these works of art. Finding out about this was certainly a strange moment in A-Rod's career.

Photo Credit: NY Post

4) Alex Rodriguez Doesn't Follow Unwritten Rules

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It is one of baseball's unwritten rules that players are not supposed to walk across the mound. However, that did not stop Alex Rodriguez from doing it in a game against the Oakland Athletics in 2010.

Even worse, Rodriguez did not think that he had done anything wrong. He insulted Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden and it is an incident that shows a lack of respect for the game.

That was not the first time that A-Rod has broken of the game's unwritten rules. In a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007, Rodriguez called "mine" on a pop-up. The problem? Rodriguez was running the bases and this cased Jays infielder Howie Clark to let the ball drop because he thought his teammate called him off.

3) Alex Rodriguez Gets Slap Happy

Alex Rodriguez could not understand why he had been called out after he had reached base after a hit in the 2004 ALCS. In fact, there was a very simple reason why Rodriguez had been called out.

After grounding a weak roller that was going towards the first baseline, Bronson Arroyo had attempted to tag Rodriguez to record an out. Rodriguez then stuck his hand out and slapped the ball out of Arroyo's glove as he went for the tag.

Photo Credit: Daily News

2) Alex Rodriguez, Your Next World Series (of Poker) Champion?

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Gambling has had a major impact on baseball history. Games have been thrown and players have been banned for life.

In 2005, Alex Rodriguez had been warned about underground poker clubs from both the New York Yankees and Bud Selig.

News has come out that Rodriguez may have been involved with a number of illegal, underground poker games. During one game, a fight broke out and cocaine was openly being used.

1) Alex Rodriguez Juices Up

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Alex Rodriguez admitted in 2009 that he took steroids for a three-year period beginning in 2001. This time frame covered a time where Rodriguez had some of his best seasons and when he won one of his MVP awards.

Rodriguez admitted to using steroids just a few days after Sports Illustrated had reported that he was one of the players that tested positive in 2003.

He said that he was clean once he was traded to the Yankees. This admission was certainly the most controversial moment of A-Rod's career.