BY JULIA ZOE – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The New York Yankees are, without a doubt, the greatest team to ever play the sport of baseball. The team is credited with revolutionizing “America’s Favorite Pastime”, and single-handedly introduced the sport to a global audience. The Yankees have consistently featured the “hottest” talent in the sport to maintain their popularity among their fans that reside in every nook and corner of the world.
If there is one player whose name can be mentioned in the same breath as legends Babe Ruth and Jimmie Fox, and caused New York Yankees tickets to sell out at a frantic pace it’s the Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez or A-Rod as he’s more commonly known. The phenomenal superstar is considered to be one of the greatest players of the game.
Rodriguez is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking Jimmie Foxx’s decades old record. He went onto to beat Ruth’s 600 homerun record and has had a phenomenal career so far consisting of 14 seasons of 100 RBIs or more.
The popular player is attempting to make a comeback from his second hip surgery, this time on the left leg which faces the pitches, but with little determination. Another fact worth mentioning is that Rodriguez has missed a staggering 140 games since 2007 due to injury related issues. His leg injury has become a recurring theme in his career and is hindering his ability to progress further. How much can he possibly have left?
A-Rod is certainly not the player he was back in in the 2004-2009 era. But if stats are anything to go by, Rodriguez continues to be a solid hitter whose short stint in 2012 proved that he still has firepower left in him. In 2012 he posted a 114 wRC+ and a 112 OPS+. If he can come back to about 110 in either, he’ll still give the Yankees a much needed boost to dominate the rankings once again.
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