Written by Ray Vann, August 8, 2016, at 9:43 p.m.
After a career spanning more than two decades, Yankee great Alex Rodriguez announced that he will play his final game in pinstripes at home on August 12, 2016. Rodriguez made the announcement on Sunday, bringing an end to an undeniably stellar time in the sport, even if it has been marred by the recent steroid controversy.
A-Rod’s Career
With a career 696 home runs and a batting and fielding ability that guarantees the 41-year-old ball player a spot in the pantheon of baseball greats, it is a difficult thing for some Yankee fans to say goodbye. This is especially true after the recent departure of captain Derek Jeter, in 2014, and more recently Mark Teixeira just this past Friday, leading some to see this retirement as the end of an era of Yankee legends.
“This is a tough day,” Rodriguez told the press at the Sunday morning conference. “I love this game, and I love this team. And today, I’m saying goodbye to both.”
Rodriquez started his career in the big leagues when he was drafted No.1 by the Seattle Mariners back in 1993. By 1996, he was leading the league with a batting average of .356 and 36 home runs. He then went to the Texas Rangers in the 2001 season, where he signed what was then the largest contract in sports history: a $252 million deal for 10 years. Those 10 years wouldn’t all be spent in the lone star state, and after nearly going to the Red Sox A-Rod was traded to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias, and history was made.
A-Rod’s Retirement
It is not all gloom for A-Rod, however, as he is not completely walking away from the Yankees franchise. The slugger is set to remain on as a special advisor, allowing him to continue to contribute to the team he loves and also to still collect the several million dollars he is still owed as part of his contract.
The Yankees, too, seem to be enjoying a bit of an income boost as a result of the news. The New York Daily News reported that ticket prices for Rodriquez’s last game have soared by an average of 355 percent, with the most expensive ticket going for a whopping $17,000 in the Legends Section 18, Row 9. It might not be as much of a leap as Derek Jeter’s final game, but it still testifies to the impact the man has had on New York sports, and especially on Yankee fans during his time in the Bronx.
I don’t know if I speak for everyone, but to this writer, A-Rod will definitely be missed. Despite a decidedly lackluster career after news of the steroid scandal broke, Rodriquez was always a reliable player who brought to the field a quality few in the sport possess. The new Yankee team is still under construction, and only time will tell what they will bring in the future, but I know there will always be a certain sense of nostalgia for that mid-2000’s team that A-Rod helped to make so great.