Yankees Fans Should be a Bit Thankful for A-Rod

With only four days left in the Yankees career of Alex Rodriguez, I implore you to remember his monstrous contribution during the entirety of the 2009 Postseason and subsequent World Series Championship.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman spoke to the media moments after Alex Rodriguez announced his final game in pinstripes would be on Aug. 12 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Cashman came right out and said it, the Yankees don’t win the ’09 championship without the significant contributions of Rodriguez.

This is what seems to have been lost in the translation since that awkward press conference took place. From what I’ve read on the internet and heard throughout the media, it sounds like fans of the Evil Empire are really harping on the negative when it comes to the time A-Rod spent in Yankee pinstripes.

To that I say, why bother? In a matter of just four days, you’ll never have to see him don an NY cap ever again. So wouldn’t it be more productive to look back at the best thing he ever did as a member of the Yankees, help the organization win its 27th World Series title?

The 2009 regular season saw Rodriguez finish 10th in the AL MVP race while compiling a .286 BA, 30 home runs, and 86 RBI. Solid by all accounts, though the Postseason was where he really made his mark.

During the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins, Rodriguez’s slash line was an otherworldly .455/.500/1.000, while hitting two homers and six RBI.

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Then came the ALCS versus the Los Angeles Angeles. All A-Rod did during that six-game series was put together another ungodly slash line of .429/.567/.952, to go along with three long balls, another six RBI, and eight walks.

Finally, there was the one and only World Series–Rodriguez would ever take part in. While not quite as Zeus-like as he was in the previous two rounds, A-Rod still managed a .973 OPS, three doubles, six RBI, and three HBP.

Now yes, CC Sabathia would win the ALCS MVP, and Hideki Matsui would be honored with the World Series MVP, but winning the title against an equally talented Philadelphia Phillies club took a total team effort.

Take away just one single player from that magnificently old Yankees team, and I guarantee you that the Bronx Bombers would have come up short.

The Yankees and their beloved fans haven’t had a whole lot to cheer about since that magical ’09 run, so the bitterness and aggravation spewed by fans and media is understandable to a certain extent. What I don’t agree with are the asinine arguments like ‘should the Yankees have not re-signed A-Rod after the 2007 season when he opted out and then agreed to a new 10-year, $275 million deal, even if it meant the Yankees wouldn’t have won that one World Series?’

First of all, that’s a really long sentence. Secondly, I believe former New York Jets Head Coach Herm Edwards said it best:

You play to win the game!

Of course, $275 million is a ton of cash, but one World Series Championship is better than none, is it not! Go ahead, ask the Chicago Cubs if they would have paid one man that much money for a single guaranteed title. I bet they wouldn’t hesitate to sign on the dotted line.

Actually, didn’t they kind of just try this with Jason Heyward and that outlandish $200 million deal? No offense, Cubs fans, but even on Heyward’s best day, he’s no Rodriguez (in his prime).

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So hate him or love him, for one fall night in 2009, we were all A-Rod fans. Remember that.