Can Alex Rodriguez ever measure up to the greatness of A-rod? Sports thoughts by Ty

Can someone please tell me why certain people and networks (ESPN) are celebrating Alex Rodriguez since he's passed Willie Mays on the all time home run leaders list?

Did everyone forget that he missed all of last season due to a PED suspension? Did we all forget that he's, by all accounts, a garbage person? Did we all forget that he's a prima donna? Did we all not see that even his own GM doesn't want to pay him his bonus for passing Willie Mays?

Let's get one thing straight, Alex Rodriguez will never be the player, or person, that Willie Mays is. Not now and not ever. Rodriguez was great as a rookie in Seattle. He looked to be, and turned into, a perennial All Star. It seemed as if he'd win every MVP award for a long time. Eventually he was ready to leave Seattle and, in my opinion, only look for the big payday. I don't think wins mattered much to him, all he wanted was the big contract and the Texas Rangers gave it to him. They gave him 250 million dollars over 10 years.  Let me write that again, 250 MILLION DOLLARS over 10 YEARS. Twenty-five million dollars a year to play a game. He proved in his time there that he couldn't turn Texas into a playoff contender, just like he couldn't turn Seattle into a contender.

Rodriguez eventually left Texas and signed with, you guessed it, the New York Yankees. The Yankees were the only team who could take on the rest of his contract. In New York, not only was he not the best player in baseball anymore, he was not even the best player on his team. That title went to Derek Jeter. Jeter was a much better baseball player and person that Rodriguez. The Yankees moved Rodriguez to third, which proved to be difficult for him. This was rightfully done to keep Derek Jeter happy. Rodriguez did play on a team that eventually won a World Series, but he didn't have much to do with it. He was just part of the eight position players, not the star anymore. Now (I assume) he has taken steroids and other PEDs throughout his entire career, but I bet when he realized he wasn't the star anymore, he took more and more. And that still didn't help. He was eventually named in the reports, denied like all cheaters do, and was finally and mercifully suspended. He tried to repeal the charge, but to no avail. Now he's back this season and he's hitting at a very pedestrian rate, but he was so close to Mays on the home run list that it was inevitable that it would happen this season. The Yankees have moved him to DH, since his fielding is sub par at best It seems like Brian Cashman(the GM) is doing everything in his power to get rid of him and it looks like his own teammates don't even like him. So let's not get ahead of ourselves people Alex Rodriguez will never, ever be on any kind of level with Willie Mays. Never.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor of Seed Sing.  He enjoys watching baseball.  He does not enjoy the endless Yankees / Red Sox coverage on ESPN