Some Gods Have Lead Feet

Shooting stars are beautiful, exciting, powerful,  dangerous and ultimately self-destructive all at the same time. To call Alex Rodriquez a shooting star is underestimating his longevity and his impact on the game for better or worse. He came out of the Miami area as a teenager and is probably the greatest baseball player that we have seen in recent times. Like it or not that's what his numbers say. His potential was quickly fulfilled and he became a superstar before he even knew what the game was all about. As his career developed he clearly took some wrong turns and some Dark Paths. His talent  always bailed him out and his celebrity although controversial always seem to be a good selling point for team looking to market a superstar. His numbers are more than Hall of Fame worthy they are historic. He is fourth all-time in home runs and they're are only two men in the history of the game that have more RBI's. 3000 hits became just another roadblock that he pushed out of the way has he continued to break records. At his best he was in a class by himself. Yes Bonds, Pujols and others had their day in the Sun but they never performed at the level that Alex Rodriguez did for 20 years and they didn't do it as a 19 year old kid. God surely bless him with talent, but not the confidence to deal with the public in a way that was beneficial to him. For those who really know him they understand he's a nice guy who was insecure and unaware of how to deal with the Limelight and the Celebrity that poured over him on a daily basis.
       The steroid use is indefensible and certainly changed his career profoundly. To say he was part of  the steroid era and doing what everybody else did does not excuse it. But for him to become The Whipping Boy of Major League Baseball when dozens of other players  who were busted not only once but twice got a complete pass is not only prejudicial but completely hypocritical. How does David Ortiz become a hero in Boston after two failed drug tests. Ryan Braun was welcomed like a Conquering Hero in Milwaukee after lying through his teeth and having the biggest failed drug test in history, and in addition costing the technician that took the sample his job. The list is big and the hypocrisy even bigger. Selig figured he could cleanse the hypocrisy of baseball looking the other way during the steroid era if he could only get Alex. Which he did. Rodriguez's good looks, Bonanza type contract, and seemingly superior attitude didn't help his cause either; but like him or not his career statistics are matched only by a few in the history of the game. He is a flawed hero, a damaged star, an insecure celebrity. But no one can ever say he couldn't play the game.