#24 Alex Rodriguez

 

Alex Rodriguez
SS/3B
1994-2016
14x All Star, 3x MVP
696 HR
I was 11 when Arod hit the show. He was the most hyped prospect I remmeber (Griffey was already killing by the time I was paying attention). Arod jumped off the screen at you even at 18 years old. The next year he came up to stay and the Mariners made the playoffs (falling to my beloved Indians in a great ALCS) but Arod was now in our lives for the long haul.

People din't like the money stuff, people didn't like his act, later people really didn't like when he got popped for PEDs, there were (stupid) arguments between him Jeter and Nomar...so many people seemed in denial that this was the best player in baseball. There was the brief terrible moment when he was going to be a Boston Red Sox, before he ended up (plot twist) wiht the Yankees where he somehow got even better despite moving to 3B even though he was a better SS than Jeter. 

The numbers are ridiculous. 696 homers with 3115 hits. 14 All Star teams, 2 Gold Gloves, 3 MVPs. He cashed in a title in 2009 so you couldn't use the "can't win the big one" knock that's so foolish in baseball anyway. 

Modern metrics? He's 12th all time in postion player WAR. He's 8th all time in runs scored and 4th in homers. 

The Cooperstown thing may never happen because they've been hesitant to put known juice guys in, but if you ever saw him, you know, you know deep down this dude was born to play baseball. 


Anthony Leonelli is a 37 year old College Basketball Coach and amateur baseball arguer. If you wanna know how this list came together check here criteria. He thinks that George Brett winning batting titles in 3 decades is pretty awesome. 




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