Before this season started, Alex Rodriguez announced that he was going to retire at the end of his contract after the 2017 season. So it seemed like we were getting two more seasons of A-Rod. But that has turned out not to be the case. Saturday night the Yankees called an 11 a.m. press conference in Sunday morning about Alex Rodriguez. And no one knew what they were going to announce. Was Rodriguez retiring, was he going to play out the year then retire, were the Yankees releasing him? These were all questions the sporting world was left asking, and no one had any idea. And then right before the press conference began the Yankees put out a press release saying A-Rod would be playing the final game of his career on
Was Rodriguez retiring, was he going to play out the year then retire, were the Yankees releasing him? These were all questions the sporting world was left asking, and no one had any idea. And then right before the press conference began, the Yankees put out a press release saying A-Rod would be playing the final game of his career on Friday, August 12 at Yankees Stadium. He then would be released from his contract so he could sign a special advisor and instructor role contract with the Yankees.
And then A-Rod took the stage. And when he was starting to talk he was being hit with tons of emotions. Realizing something he has done for the majority of his life was about to come to an end, A-Rod stood on the precipice.
A-Rod hasn’t been playing much recently and he admitted he was getting frustrated, and even embarrassed. He also mentioned that Hal Steinbrenner contacted him first to talk about the situation and they both came up with this solution. The Yankees are headed in a rebuilding direction with young players and A-Rod didn’t really fit them anymore. But that is also why the want to keep A-Rod around as a coach, to help teach the young players that they have.
He leaves quite the legacy; good or bad (due to steroid allegations), A-Rod is sure to be remembered.
Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison
