Alex Rodriguez leaves 'in love with the game of baseball'

BOSTON -- The older you get, the faster it goes, as the old saw reminds us. This week Alex Rodriguezfound out just how fast 22 years goes by.

“Like that,” Rodriguez told USA TODAY Sports, snapping his fingers, sitting in the visitors’ dugout at Fenway Park. “Some moments faster than others. Some were really slow. But for the most part, it’s been a pretty good run. It’s kind of melancholy.

“It’s kind of all surreal right now, a little bit of a blur. I think the synopsis of it is a happy moment, and a lot of (contentment).”

Since making his major league debut in 1994 at Fenway Park as an 18-year-old wunderkind who was “so damn nervous” starting at shortstop with the Seattle Marinershe packed those 22 seasons with plenty of memories, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The overall No. 1 pick in 1993 went on to be a three-time MVP, 14-time All-Star and 2009 World Series winner.

And, yes, performance-enhancing drug user who served a seasonlong suspension in 2014.

Now, at 41, he is set to play his final game. Rodriguez and the Yankees announced on Sunday the team will give him his unconditional release after Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. He acknowledges he’s been counting down the hours.

“It’s been an emotional week that’s for sure,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve had quite a few of those. But it’s certainly one with a positive twist on it.”

Rodriguez leaves the Yankees with several milestones that are just out of reach. He entered Thursday night’s game at Fenway four home runs shy of 700. He was surprised and disappointed when he learned he would not be in the starting lineup for the first two games of a three-game set against the Red Sox. He got a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday when his fly ball to right field moved a runner to third base in the Yankees’ five-run seventh inning.

“Disappointed but understanding,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s a little difficult, for sure. You work for 22 years and I would have loved an opportunity to get 700 and to keep helping the team win. But that option wasn’t in the cards.”

The option that was given to him was to take his release and remain with the Yankees as a special advisor, a role that is still being defined.

He doesn’t plan to pull punches with the young players.

“First, I’ll talk about a lot of my mistakes and I hope that they can learn from my mistakes,” Rodriguez said.

“Look, I’m not in a position to be giving a lot of world advice. But I think there’s a lot to be learned from others’ mistakes, for one. And then for two, one of the things I’m maniacal about is fundamentals. That’s why I love players like (Red Sox second baseman Dustin) Pedroia. You think about winning world championships, it usually revolves around fundamentals. I know we got all these fancy words going around with mathematics and sabermetrics. But at the end of the day, it still comes down to whoever executes the fundamentals when the game’s on the line usually takes the bacon home.”

Which is part of the reason Rodriguez was still working at third base in pregame drills this week. In 63 games, he has not played in the field this season. He played just four games (two starts) at third and two (one start) at first base in 2015.

For Rodriguez, though, the writing on the wall was becoming increasingly clear. He is batting .203 with a .606 OPS this season serving as the DH. His last start was July 30 at Tampa Bay, when he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

Asked if it was a difficult decision to accept his release, Rodriguez pauses.

“These decisions are never easy,” he said. “Yeah, it was difficult.

“To a degree, it was (my) decision. I am – regardless of anything that’s happened – I am extremely grateful to the way Hal Steinbrenner’s treated me. I certainly have an appreciation for the options he’s given me and the option to stay involved in the game with the young kids.”

He expects Friday to be very emotional. His mother – who was at Fenway 22 years ago, along with his brother and sister – will be there again, this time with his daughters, Natasha and Ella.

He’s not sure what the next chapter of his life will bring - fatherhood, certainly, possibly coaching, and perhaps the two will intersect.

“Yeah, I would love to maybe coach Natasha’s basketball team at Ransom (Everglades School),” he said. “She’s trying out for the first time. So, if she makes the team maybe I could volunteer. That would be very cool. But she’s like, ‘Dad, don’t mention me any more in your press conferences.’”

Since Sunday’s announcement there has been much speculation that he might sign with another team, crossing some more of those milestones off.

“I’ve had a lot of those questions,” he said. “But I’m really just, especially this week, I’m down to my last (few) hours here. I just want to stay in the moment and kind of go down memory lane a little bit. It’s quite nostalgic.”

And it’s a complicated legacy that he is leaving behind. Asked if he thought he would get into the Hall of Fame, Rodriguez replied:

“I don’t have a vote. I’m going let (the voters) decide. I think over time, things may look a little different. I don’t know that. But one of the things I learned while I was serving my suspension is that I screwed up and I screwed up in a big way. And acknowledging that is Step 1. No. 2, I also learned that I have to surround myself with the right people. And No. 3, I have to make a lot of uncomfortable phone calls and meetings in person apologizing to a lot of people. Then you have to go out and carry out and behave in a totally different way.

“And I think for the last two years I’m most proud of that. I don’t know anything about numbers or Hall of Fame, but I am happy that I have been able comport myself in a rightful way.”

What would he most like to be remembered for?

“Hopefully, you don’t have to be defined by your mistakes,” he said. “How you come back matters, too. That’s one, for sure. And someone who’s in love with the game of baseball.”

It’s a game he will miss terribly, he says. He knows because it’s been taken away from him once already.

“I hear a lot of players retire and they say I’m going to miss from 7 (p.m.)-10,” he says. “(But) I’m going to miss all of it. All of it. I love, love the work.”

He knows the end is near. He’s not fooling himself into thinking someone will change his mind before the game and ask him to stay.

“No, no, I’ve played for a long time and baseball has a funny way of tapping you on the shoulder when you least expect it when you’re time is up,” he said. “I’m at peace with everything.”

What would he like his last at-bat to be?

“A productive one,” he said. “Maybe a double in the gap and drive in a run. But I’ll let the moment come to me. I’m just so excited that I get an opportunity here down the stretch to have a last moment and share it with the fans.”

What will be going through his mind when he wakes up Saturday morning and the game that he loves so much has once again – perhaps for good – been taken away from him?

Rodriguez takes a lengthy pause, looks out over the baseball field in front of him, composing himself before responding.

“Probably feeling grateful for the opportunity to come back,” he said. “Just grateful to a lot of people that gave me the opportunity to come back and make right with a lot of people.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/08/11/alex-rodriguez-yankees-final-game/88575792/