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by Joseph Hannon

Created on: January 15, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

It is easy to say that most people who don't like A-Rod don't like the Yankees. I used to have the same clouded judgment, assuming everyone who didn't like Manny Ramirez simply hated the Sox. Unfortunately, this debate is not entitled "Do you like Alex Rodriguez?" Now I will admit, as a die-hard Red Sox fan, that Rodriguez is an amazing player. There is no doubt in my mind that he will break the home-run record, in fact I hope he does. I love to watch him play and I believe that he will go down as ONE of the most talented players to live.

That being said, it should be known that Red Sox fans(or Yankee-haters, to the assuming masses) are, in large part, fans of the game of baseball. We will go out of our way to watch a Marlins vs. Nationals game if we can. I have found myself countless times at the town park cooling down after a game of 1-on-1 by watching a little league game. We funny-talking, bean-engorging, whale-watchers appreciate nothing more than the history and legacy of baseball, including that of the dreaded pin-striped bombers.

Unfortunately for New York, Alex Rodriguez is no Yankee. He is an extremely talented player who donned the pinstripes simply because they would pay him the most money. He has no pride for the city or team. He in no way has embodied the grace and poise required to become a legend. He has performed, more times than I can count, great acts of childish disrespect for the game. He has blatantly knocked the ball out of a fielders hand, he has started fights over a misplaced fastball, he has even tricked a third-baseman by calling out "I GOT IT!" while rounding the base, causing the third-baseman to drop a simple pop-fly. Surely such underhandedness is compensated by the way he treats his teammates, right? Wrong. He has had petty disagreements with shortstop Derek Jeter, causing tension for days at a time. He in no way inspires or inculcates the younger players. He is simply a talented player who gets payed a lot to put up empty numbers.

Yes...his numbers...let's talk about his numbers for a minute. In 2007, he got the AL RBI leader award, the AL MVP award, and the AL Hank Aaron award. These are phenomenal accomplishments he gained by hitting an exceptional amount of home-runs and RBI's that season. However, an alarming number of those RBI's came when the game was not on the line. A bunch of the RBI's by A-rod were purely ornamental, having little to no effect on the game being played, when the Yankees were already up or down by a number of runs. I don't want to bring up the fact that he has no championship rings, because that often has little to do with the player in question. However, In Rodriguez's case, it does. To date, A-rod is 0-26 with runners on base in his post-season career. Keep in mind, this isn't even RISP, this is just runners on base. This is a man who's getting paid over 3 1/2 times the average American annual income for every game he plays, and the only way he can advance a runner in October is to draw a walk.

There is no doubt in my mind that Alex Rodriguez is the most prolific and most marketable player in the MLB, but best player he is not. A great player not only produces numbers, but produces results. A great player is never bigger than his team, and works well with the rest of that team. A great player respects the game, as well as those who have ever played it. I will admit, in spite of being a Red Sox fan, that Derek Jeter may be the greatest player of this era, but according to the definitions provided above, Alex Rodriguez comes nowhere close to being the greatest. So tell him to get out of the pahk and warm up the cah, because this ahguement is ovah.

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