A-Rod Doing His Negotiation on the Field

by Nejoshi

Blessed with an amazing skill set that few major leaguers, past or present, can match, Alex Rodriguez has become the man that everyone loves to hate because of one number: 252 million. That number represents his historic contract, a staggering $25 million a year for a 10-year contract that was signed in 2000 when he was with the Texas Rangers. But, given the way he is playing in 2007, it looks like A-Rod is going to set a new record for the [1] biggest contract in sports history, if that is even conceivable to most people.

Rodriguez is in a no-win situation as he enters his contract negotiation. If he stays with his contract, which he is owed approximately $70-80 million over the next three years, he’s stuck with the brutal New York media, the same New York media that has crucified him during his stint with the Yankees where he has averaged 40 home runs and 119 RBI over the last three years. No matter what he does, he will fail to meet the expectations of a town that has never appreciated exactly what they are witnessing.

However, much of the hating of A-Rod has been legit because he has continually come up short during the most important moments, especially the postseason. If Rodriguez opts out of his record-breaking deal, – like he says he will – then he looks like the selfish prototypical athlete who is only in it for the money.

For all the trash that has been spit on Rodriguez for his postseason struggles, it takes a special kind of player to put up the kind of numbers that A-Rod has achieved over the last decade. Even his production as a Yankee in three short years is hard to overlook. I don’t care what you do or when you do it, but when you hit 119 home runs in 3 seasons, a large number of them will come when your team desperately needs it. In addition, one player doesn’t kill you during the playoffs; it takes an entire team of underachievers [2] to fail in the postseason, and the entire Yankees lineup has struggled in Octobers of the past. Rodriguez came out and explicitly stated that he wanted to wait until the off-season to negotiate his contract. But, his brilliant season is only adding to his ridiculous value. Each day the man continues to do things to amaze us and add to his expected upcoming salary. A-Rod’s unique combination of speed, power, and youth – relatively speaking at the age of 32 – makes him as good a candidate as any to top the $30 million mark with his newest contract, whoever the buyer may be.

With the 500 home run plateau quickly coming into view, one must stand back and look at A-Rod’s place in the history book. Barry Bonds, the world’s blueprint for a steroid user, is going to be the game’s most prolific home run hitter in the coming weeks, but Rodriguez looks almost certain to pass him in the near future. For all of his faults, the 11-time All-Star looks ready and willing to break the home run mark that Bonds sets, and even better, his stats don’t appear to be performance enhanced.

In light of all this information, why does everyone fail to appreciate Rodriguez and his accomplishments, especially in an era of inflated salaries?