Yankees News: Suzyn Waldman calls A-Rod “impossible to dislike”

By Caleb Gebrewold | Feb 22, 2015

With Alex Rodriguez only days away from reporting to Spring Training, affiliates of the New York Yankees are talking more about him, whether due to being questioned or simply giving their opinion. Radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman was the latest to give her opinion on baseball’s villain, and it was a shocking opinion.

"I find him impossible to dislike. I’m not defending him. I think what he did was stupid more than anything else. I know he’s lied. He’s made every wrong decision. He says things and does things and you just want to say ‘Why?’ I also know you can’t go wrong for dumping on Alex. This is what it’s become. What’s he supposed to do?"

At first glance, Waldman’s position is very shocking, considering that most people dislike A-Rod. After giving it second thought, the shocking part is that most people dislike a guy they don’t know and have never met. Yes, A-Rod is no saint, but he is no murderer either. He has made mistakes, as we all do, and those mistakes cost him $27.5 million, a year of playing time and adding to his stats, and probably most importantly, his baseball legacy.

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Ever since signing his massive ten-year $252 million deal with the Texas Ranger before the 2001 season, Rodriguez has always unfairly had the title of greedy, self-centered, and even a bad teammate. He claims that these titles are what led him to take PED’s, as he was scared of not living up to his contract. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, as cheating is cheating, regardless of the reason.

However, in Rodriguez’s defense, many athletes take the largest contract they are offered, and are not labeled as greedy. Professional athletes only have a limited window to earn money, so going after the money should not be a crime.

When Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners, they did not show a commitment to keeping him, or keeping a winning team around him. Aside from refusing to offer Randy Johnson an extension and trading away Ken Griffey Jr., the Mariners offered Rodriguez 3 separate contracts, of seven years $63 million, eight years $117.5 million, and finally, three years $54 million with a two-year option leaving it at five years $92 million.

If a company values your loyalty, then they would offer deals that are at least reasonable to the market price. The Mariners offered A-Rod $9 million, $14 million and some change, and $18 million annually, undervaluing his talents. These also were for shorter years than what he ultimately got, and the best deal would have still left him $170 million short of what Texas gave him.

At a certain point, loyalty must work both ways, and the Mariners were not committed to keeping their big names in Seattle, and while money surely played a factor, the Mariners’ ownership lack of commitment most likely did as well.

The bad teammate rep that Rodriguez has gotten is even more far-fetched. I have never heard a teammate or ex-teammate badmouth his abilities as a teammate, and he seems to be one of the most popular guys in the clubhouse. Mark Teixeira was quoted the other day as saying that Alex coming back will “be interesting, but I think we’re gonna have fun. Alex is a great teammate. Ask anyone that’s played with Alex.”

While A-Rod has a lot of people who dislike him, those who know him seem to differ, and I think that Waldman is simply speaking as a person who knows him. Hopefully, Rodriguez has learned to stop wanting to be so beloved like Derek Jeter was, and can simply be A-Rod, one of the guys.

If he is able to not worry about the fans, and realize that those who have gotten to know him enjoy his personality, I believe Rodriguez can regain his confidence, and be a productive DH and key component of this Yankees lineup.

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