Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will always be linked, but it’s the differences between them that are most telling. It’s not what you do but how you do it, at least when you’re talking about legacies.
The contrast is significant: the captain vs. the cheater. Jeter has become synonymous with the best parts of the game. Alex Rodriguez will be remembered for being caught using PEDs, which is sad since the memory of him lacks nuance. I honestly think he meant well and was just hyper-aware of himself, yet unaware how he was being perceived.
Rodriguez has been incredibly charitable and has multiple philanthropic endeavours in the Miami area (although even his generosity has been called into question).
By all accounts he was a good teammate. A-Rod took the high road and moved to third base rather than displacing Jeter and disrupting the Yankees clubhouse — something he didn’t have to do graciously, as he was the far superior defender at that point and Jeter could have transitioned to another position.
Rodriguez is often criticized for choking in the clutch, but when New York last won the World Series in 2009 it was largely due to his play. Rodriguez came up with numerous big hits batting .365 with six home runs and 18 RBI in the postseason. You could make a very strong argument that he was more deserving than eventual World Series MVP Hideki Matsui.
Despite some historic numbers, the media probably won’t vote Rodriguez in to the Hall of Fame. Jeter, meanwhile, will be in on the first ballot. By most metrics A-Rod was better. He hit more home runs. He had more tools. He made more money.
A-Rod ranks near the top in all of baseball’s significant offensive categories. He sits just four home runs short of becoming the fourth man to hit 700 (which is why some are skeptical that he’ll stop playing, and that a contract with his hometown Miami Marlins could be next).
Rodriguez was the number one overall draft pick and star in high school. Think of the LeBron of the diamond. He seemed preordained for success. So what is the disconnect?
A-Rod leaves you with the unsatisfying feeling of what if? Instead of challenging for Yankee records Rodriguez became the Babe Ruth of cheating. He did it at a level better than anyone before him. In fact maybe comparing him to Lance Armstrong is more appropriate, since he sued a Yankees doctor and the MLBA.
A major reason the Yankees bid against themselves and thought paying him $317 million over the life of his deals with them was wise is that he was going to break records in pinstripes. Instead the significance of his records diminished because of the stain of his doping past.
Even in trying to do right he couldn’t help himself from making things worse. In trying to come clean, he lied to Katie Couric, further undermining his credibility.
Jeter on the other hand said nothing of consequence to the media. In that sense, he’s the Bill Belichick of baseball. But he seemed genuine. He took time to answer every question.
Jeter had the gift of making everyone he talked to feel like he was their friend. For some reason A-Rod made everyone feel like they were his enemy when the act of covering an athlete shouldn’t be adversarial.
Alex Rodriguez seemed like he was always acting, playing a part. Going through life as if he was watching himself in a mirror. That’s why he didn’t last under the microscope.
After a full career in New York City the only scandal surrounding Jeter related to the gift baskets he allegedly gave women. Even then, he made a joke off that which came off as endearing.
Jeter is known for dating lots of famous women and never kissing and telling. A-Rod is known for kissing his reflection in the mirror.
Jeter is known for tipping his cap to his opponent. A-Rod is known for slapping at the baseball to avoid being tagged out and yelling to distract a fielder trying to catch a pop-up.
“No athlete ever ends his career or her career the way you want to. We all want to keep playing forever. But it doesn’t work that way,”A-Rod recently said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was the assembled press.
I don’t think Jeter would change much of how he went out. Cheered at home and on the road. Still making meaningful plays in prime-time situations. Transitioning into a post-baseball career at The Players’ Tribune that was ridiculed in its infancy but now is critically acclaimed.
“I do want to be remembered as someone who is madly in love with the game of baseball,” Rodriguez said when he announced his retirement. “Someone who loves it at every level. Someone who loves to learn, teach it, watch it, play it, coach it. And also I’m going to hopefully — I’ll be remembered as someone who tripped and fell a lot. But someone who kept getting up.”
The only problem is it’s too late to control how he’ll be remembered. That’s determined by how you go about your day to day business during the grind of a 162 game season.
What’s the inter-personal lesson to learn from two of the greatest infielders ever? That if you think you can out-smart everyone with lies you’re lying to yourself. And if you pay homage to others while you’re here they’ll pay homage to you after you leave.
