A-Rod One Step Away from Redemption

I was asked by a co-worker when the season started how I thought Alex Rodriguez would do. I answered "MVP-quality season". I got a shocked "huh?". I mean A-Rod had just been exposed as a fraud by Joe Torre and furthermore by the steroids admission he was forced to give after finding he was on "The List". He looked like he still didn't get it when he was pictured driving away with his infamous cousin in Spring Training. Rodriguez vowed to be out of the spotlight and let his play do the talking. Amazingly, I believed him.

A-Rod has a history of performing well under controversy. The New York Post took a picture of him with a stripper and the home runs started flying. When his marriage went into the crapper, his play went up. When the Madonna rumors swirled, A-Rod batted over .400. So when he came into this season with a cloud of controversy, I knew he was due for a big season.

You knew A-Rod was locked in when, in the final series of the season, needing 2 HR and 7 RBI for the 30 HR-100 RBI season he was looking for, A-Rod got that total in an inning. A 3-run home run and then a grand slam all in one inning. After the Tampa Bay Rays decided to walk Mark Teixeira to face A-Rod, it was the ultimate test. And he responded with a blast of a home run. His message: "you are not going to walk people to face me this October:"

He continued that message in the playoffs for the first time since 2004. In Game 2 of the ALDS, he hit a dramatic game-tying home-run against closer extraordinaire in the bottom of the 9th inning sending New Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. In the very next game, he hit another game-tying home run. He hit yet another in Game 2 of the ALCS, with the Yankees trailing and the Angels closer on the mound. He continued to rake throughout the ALCS.

Overall, his numbers this postseason are spectacular:



This postseason Rodriguez has seven extra-base hits, 12 RBIs and a 1.516 OPS. In his final 15 plate appearances in the ALCS, he reached base 12 times (.800 OBP). The Angels were so nervous to face A-Rod, they walked him any chance they got including putting him on as the game-tying run with no one on and two outs in the bottom of the 9th of Game 5 (the first time in Major League history this had happened).

So what changed for A-Rod? Who knows. Maybe it was, as Ian O'Connor suggests, an intervention in a Tampa diner. Jon Heyman lists Mark Teixeira, A-Rod's real estate agent, Dr. Marc Philippon, Kate Hudson, Guy Oseary, Brian Cashman or "Al" himself as possible reasons (picture from the SI article).

Maybe he was already there and we just didn't appreciate it. IIATMS showed that A-Rod and "Mr. October" looked pretty similar and FanGraphs breaks down the similarities of "Captain Clutch" and A-Rod. So maybe we took the small sample size of the past few postseasons and blew it out of proportion.

I think it was a combination of all of the above as well as A-Rod stopping his worrying about what everyone else was thinking and going out there, playing the game (and letting his game speak louder than his fake words), and having fun. He's one step away from putting the picture of him kissing the mirror, the interview with Katie Couric and the Selena Roberts book behind him. He's one step away from putting away all those critics who killed him the past two offseasons with the opt-out during the World Series and the steroids revelation. He's one step away from shutting up all the naysayers who said the Yankees would never win a World Series with A-Rod. A-rod is one step away from redemption.

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Chad Jennings says that it has gone from nightmare to dream for A-Rod. Buster Olney says that A-Rod's adjustments may finally be paying off. Howard Bryant says that A-Rod is letting his play speak for itself. Jim Caple writes about A-Rod finally reaching the biggest stage. Ken Davidoff wonders how A-Rod will finish up "what has been the most fascinating season in a fascinating career." The New York Post says that the postseason has been heaven so far for the Yankees slugger and Kevin Kernan writes about the change that occurred in 8 months for the former pariah to the current messiah.