How Alex Rodriguez Is Bringing Sexy Back to Baseball

All you need to know about Alex Rodriguez starts with a simple single to left field.

That's how Rodriguez led off the top of the fourth inning in Monday's Yankees-Devil Rays game, with New York trailing 4-2. In the top of the second, A-Rod had put the Yankees up 1-0 with his 13th home run of the season—before rookie starter Kei Igawa surrendered four runs in the bottom half of the frame.

But back to the single.

And that's it, really: a ground ball to left, a sprint around the bases, and a routine tag-up on a routine fly ball. It only produced one run in a 10-8 defeat for the sub-.500 Yanks, but it spoke volumes about just how much Alex Rodriguez means, to the Yankees and to Major League Baseball.

Forget the April home run record. This is about doing the little things. This is about redemption—for A-Rod, for his team, and for the game itself.

A season ago, Rodriguez was baseball's most hated player not named Barry Bonds. The animosity that took root in the Yankees' 2004 ALCS collapse against the Boston Red Sox culminated in a yearlong episode of "Everybody Loathes Alex," with the third baseman playing whipping boy in tabloids all over the country.

Not that it was anything new.

Throughout his career, A-Rod has been despised by teammates, opponents, journalists, and fans. His unreal talent and outsized paycheck make him an easy target, and he'll continue to be subject to hateration until he picks up that ultimate antidote:

A World Series ring. 

Still, A-Rod's always managed to produce. He's outdone himself thus far in 2007, with a hot streak of historic proportions. The Yankees are a long way removed from the magic of 1998—but the "What's Wrong With _________?" question has been taken off the table.

And you'd better believe George Steinbrenner's taken note. Think about it: Swept by the hated Red Sox at Fenway last weekend, including a come-from-behind win on the strength of four consecutive home runs? Under normal circumstances, Steinbrenner would be angry enough to fire the pinstripes off the uniforms—but instead he seems willing to see where the Rodriguez wave is headed before he rocks the boat.

Another plus for the Boss: If the team struggles and A-Rod's brilliance is the main storyline, it means no one in New York is talking about how Steinbrenner's going to solve the problem.

Major League Baseball wins here too. The league's flagship team is floundering four games back of its arch rival in Boston—and the news from New York is still all good. As Bonds gets closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, the inevitable steroid talk will make it awfully hard for baseball to market itself. So long as A-Rod continues to provide the substance-free, feel-good story of the summer, you can bet the league will plug the Bronx Tale for all it's worth.

In a career full of bright spots, Alex Rodriguez is having his ultimate moment in the sun. If he can keep doing the little things throughout the season, he may just find that antidote he's been searching for—and Bud Selig may just find the squeaky-clean savior baseball's been waiting on.

Funny how a simple single to left can mean so much for America's pastime.