Beyond the Numbers: A Look at A-Rod’s Integrity and Cooperstown Eligibility

Can Alex Rodriguez still get into the Baseball Hall of Fame despite his mistakes?

With Alex Rodriguez possibly having played his last professional game, the question of his eligibility for Cooperstown has caused many to weigh his incredible achievements against his mistakes.

And of course, ultimately, the issue goes back to: Can someone guilty of using PEDs still be considered an all-time great player?

A-Rod’s career numbers are without a doubt worthy of baseball immortality. In 22 years in the majors, the slugger amassed 696 home runs, 3115 hits, 2086 RBIs and a .295 AVG over 2784 games. He is also ranked 37th for all-time OPS leaders.

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Alex Rodriguez was also the youngest player to ever hit 500 home runs and holds many of the all-time records for shortstops, including most runs in a season, most total bases, and most home runs. However, the numbers obviously don’t tell the whole story..

Underneath the glistening foundation that is A-Rod’s career numbers, three MVPs, and a World Series Championship, is the fact that he admittedly used PEDs throughout several years of his career.

“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure,” Alex Rodriguez said about his first time using PEDs. “I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform — and perform at a high level — every day.”

Then in 2013, A-Rod was caught in a biogenesis scandal that led to his banishment from most of the 2013 season and entire 2014 season.

Many baseball legends opined about Rodriguez’s situation, and some quickly denounced any chance that he ever had at making it to Cooperstown, including his former teammate and fellow member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series team, Jorge Posada.

In 2015, in a promotion for his book, “The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes,” Posada said he believed players linked to PEDs should not be allowed into the Hall of Fame – including Alex Rodriguez. “I don’t think it’s fair. I really don’t. I think the guys that need to be in the Hall of Fame need to be a player that played with no controversy.”

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Pitching legend Phil Niekro also felt unsure about the situation, noting that, “Stat-wise, there’s no doubt about it. But I think there’s more to stats and getting in here than just the stats themselves. I think the writers will determine where that goes.”

And it’s true, there should be more to the Hall of Fame than stats. So Rodriguez’s statistics, even without the PED Years where his numbers still maintain Hall of Fame-worthy pedigree, should be excluded and his character should be questioned.

Did he use PEDs? Yes. Did he tarnish his legacy by lying about it? Yes. Did he make more enemies than friends by suing MLB for his suspension? Absolutely.

But Alex Rodriguez’s career has been unlike any other PED users’ career, and he could become the first PED user allowed into the Hall of Fame. Why? A-Rod did well in gaining the respect and trust of the MLB community when he returned from suspension with one of the greatest comeback seasons ever.

Despite all of the downs that Alex Rodriguez has suffered, he has returned every single time and has never given up, because, in his words, he loves the game of baseball. So much that he even took a part time job as an analyst during the MLB 2015 post season.

Many saw his release as a slap to the face, and yet, he handled it in a positive manner, choosing to become a part of the Yankees family and retiring his yearning for 700 home runs. Rodriguez’s career has seen more ups and downs than any player in the history of the league, and no player has had to deal with media scrutiny as he did.

In the end, were the numbers good enough? It’s hard to argue otherwise. Was the integrity of the player worthy of Cooperstown recognition? Not initially, but there is much to respect and admire about conquering adversity. After all, a Hall of Fame player should be admired for his story of achievement.

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So what better story to appreciate than one of a man that was lost in a dark place, and yet somehow found the will to make it to the light.