We'll Have To Get Used To Hearing Rodriguez Is A Hall-Of-Famer
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Mark Howe-mhowe@timesuniononline.com
How in the world will we ever get used to the term “hall of famer Alex Rodriguez?” With 3,000 career hits and a shot at 700 home runs if he plays in 2016, it’s hard to imagine leaving A-Rod out of the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I can hear by detractors now: “How in the world can you say that? He cheated!” Anyone who is suspended for performance enhancing drugs has done something that affects not only the integrity of the game, but probably hurts their bodies long term, though that really remains to be seen. PED’s indirectly raise salaries, and thus ticket prices, and I’m forever whining about the cost of taking the kids to a game in comparison to the good ol’ days back in the 80’s. (There’s another phrase that’ll take some getting used to.) Rodriguez knew the rule, broke the rule anyway, paid the price of a season-long suspension that cost him more millions of dollars than most of us can imagine, and has come back when some, myself included, didn’t think he would. If you’re comparing baseball’s rule enforcement to the judicial system, Rodriguez has paid his debt to society. I’m not sure where that leaves the couple of dozen others of the steroid era who didn’t any rules in place at the time, and thus served no penalty. But those guys aren’t necessarily making headlines right now. Pete Rose is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. I have always opposed his reinstatement from his lifetime ban from baseball for having bet on games when he managed the Cincinnati Reds. The new evidence that suggests Rose bet on games he played in should only reinforce his ban; other than that, nothing has changed. It was a little shocking to see Rose on Fox Sports as an analyst, and clearly he was nervous on camera. It’s easy to understand and relate to his disposition. I can deal with Rose making a living in baseball related activities, as long as it’s not on the field and the ban that keeps him from induction into the hall of fame remains in place until his lifetime is up. After that, sure, let him in. I’m to the place where I honestly believe Pete Rose will say or do anything to get into the Hall. You want him to admit guilt and express remorse? Done in book form. If he thought it would help him reach the one goal he has in life, he’d compete on “American Ninja Warrior.” With the new allegations, that last chance may be fading fast. Other things I wonder about in the world of sports: Did Dustin Johnson sleep at all the last two nights? That eagle putt he had on the 18th hole to win the U.S. Open at Chamber’s Bay on Sunday was tough, and the comebacker was no gimme. I told my wife and kids so as we watched it. But if you’re marrying into a family where your future father-in-law is known as “The Great One,” well, that can’t help. I have to give Jordan Spieth credit. I thought after he gain a more-or-less instant three-shot lead on 16, he had it in the bag. To lose the entire lead as quickly as he gained it, then get his poop in a group quickly enough to retake the lead on 18 showed poise demonstrated by only the best of the best athletes. That 18-hole playoff would have been either epic or anti-climatic, and now we’ll never know. But yeah, I’d have watched it. After all it’s my job, or at least that’s what I’d tell my wife.
This column appears periodically. The author’s views don’t necessarily reflect those of the Times-Union.
