Feb 25, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (13) makes contact during batting practice of the afternoon workouts at New York Yankee Minor League Complex. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
A-Rod needs to shut up and hit.
He’s back. He had his chance to talk to the Yankees’ brass, and he had his hand-written opportunity to apologize to Yankees and baseball fans. Now he needs to play baseball.
If he is truly apologetic, if he truly wants to be a baseball player again, then A-Rod needs to step back from the spotlight and do something this season that he never has. He needs to make this season about the Yankees and not A-Rod. He needs to care about winning and not about how close he is to eclipsing Willie Mays on the home run list or inching closer to 3,000 hits. He needs to realize that whether or not he gets his bonuses, he is lucky to have a job playing in the greatest baseball city on earth.
Unless he gets severely injured in spring training, A-Rod is here and he is here to stay. His bat, whether it be spelling Mark Teixeira at first base or as the every day designated hitter, could provide a serious spark to the Yankees’ boring, lackluster offense from 2014. Should A-Rod focus on winning and being a key cog in returning the Yankees to the playoffs for the first time in two years, things will change.
A-Rod will most likely never be forgiven. If he can hit .270 and belt 20 home runs, he can certainly become accepted, not necessarily liked, again by Yankees fans. If he can put the team first and show that he truly has matured, he will make strides in the right direction. If A-Rod keeps poking his head into the news and tries to steal the limelight like he has been known to do then he and the Yankees are in for a long season.
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