Alex Rodriguez’s 22-year career in baseball will come to an end on Friday, when he will play his final game with the New York Yankees before becoming a special adviser and instructor with the team next year. The Yankees will release Rodriguez after the Friday game so that he can then sign a separate contract for his new role with the team that will last until the end of 2017. “This is a tough day. I love this game and I love this team,” a visibly emotional Rodriguez said at a news conference on Sunday. “And today I’m saying goodbye.”
Rodriguez, who will play against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, said the agreement to leave was decided over the past few days in a series of conversations with the team’s management. The 41-year-old Rodriguez did not hide that he was none too happy about how he has barely been given playing time lately. “The last four weeks have not been fun,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been very painful and embarrassing to sit on the bench. It’s been awkward. From that sense, I’m very happy that we found a solution.”
The three-time AL MVP said that despite the setbacks this season he still thinks he can contribute to the team. “Of course, I think I can play baseball. You always think you have one more hit in you or, help the team win one more game, for sure,” said Rodriguez. “That wasn’t in the cards. That was the Yankees’ decision and I’m at peace with it.”
The end to Rodriguez’s career as a Yankees player is better than what many would have expected when he was forced to sit out the 2014 season due to a doping suspension. The New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica explains:
Now he gets one last week as an active player with the Yankees. He gets to play one more game at Yankee Stadium. So Rodriguez gets the great Yankee treatment on Friday night. He gets the kind of goodbye the Yankees do better than anybody else. And knowing the kind of drama king that Rodriguez has always been, he will probably hit one more home run. Or two.
Rodriguez said on Sunday he was the one who asked to play in the Bronx one last time before leaving the team. “It’s both a happy and sad day,” Rodriguez said.
At the Sunday news conference, Rodriguez did not completely dismiss the suggestion that he might play for another team. “I have not thought past the pinstripes, and my horizon is Friday. And, I haven’t thought much more than that,” he said. But Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who spoke with Rodriguez, said that it “sounds as if he is ready for the end.”
