A Life of Hatred: Is It Time to Forgive ARod?

No one in a million years would ever believe that Alex Rodriguez would be doing what he is during his return to baseball. After a one-year ban from the sport for admitting HGH use, Rodriguez returned to the Yankees in dramatic fashion. From rumors in spring training of him not starting, to hitting his first home run of the year on April 6^th, and now currently second on the team in homeruns and third in slugging percentage, ARod has delivered all the drama he possibly could. It’s only been two months since the beginning of spring training and already the debate has begun, is it time to forgive Alex Rodriguez?

 

Before reading this article, most people would quickly say “not a chance,” and move on. Read though! Sit and think of the many times that ARod has been “hated” on by so many people and then think, why? Why do we tend to hate this man who simply plays baseball? Maybe people hate him for the numerous women he has dated or the fact that he is so inconsistent in the playoffs. Maybe it’s because he admitted to using human growth hormones. Maybe it’s because he owns multiple businesses and he’s so successful; remember people tend to hate successful people. Or, maybe it’s simply because he’s a Yankee. I guess everyone has their own reason for disliking the third baseman.

What if I told you ARod deserves to be forgiven? Would you think I’m crazy and an idiot? Or would you want to hear why? Most people don’t want to hear why and that’s the exact reason why ARod is still considered a terrible person.

Throughout his entire career, ARod has been the bad guy of the MLB. It didn’t matter if he hit a walk off homerun or struck out, he was hated, and still is. When Rodriguez was accused of using HGH, it came as no surprise to almost everyone that the bad guy, ARod, cheated. It didn’t help his case that for months he consistently denied ever using these drugs and then decided to come clean and admit that he has used steroids. For many people, that was the worst thing he could’ve done. No player can disgrace baseball the way ARod did in lying about using HGH.

This hated figure, however, doesn’t want to be hated. In fact, he has tried to do nothing but be forgiven, not even forgiven, but unhated. Who can blame him? Who wants to be hated by almost they entire world?

“I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that I say at this point. I understand why and that's on me. It was gracious of the Yankees to offer me the use of Yankee Stadium for this apology, but I decided that next time I am in Yankee Stadium, I should be in pinstripes doing my job.”

So why can’t anyone accept this or the numerous other apologies from Rodriguez?  It’s understandable that this evil person deserves to be disliked and he should for the consequences for his wrongdoing, but ARod has already paid for them. Rodriguez served the longest suspension in MLB history for PED use, lost an entire year’s worth of pay, and become undeniably, the most hated man in sports. ARod is a living example of your actions can come back to haunt you.

His mistakes don’t mean that we have to hate him forever. In fact, in aspects other than baseball, he has the characteristics of a perfect role model. Rodriguez is a self made man. He owns numerous companies and continues to learn and grow to his full potential. If I had a child, I would tell them to look up to entrepreneurs like Rodriguez and see that enough dedication and willingness to continue to grow can make you successful. Even if ARod’s baseball success isn’t measured by hard work because of the HGH issues, his business life is remarkable.

Now to baseball.

His return wasn’t a Gatorade commercial or an Adidas advertisement. There wasn’t a sold out crowd and all day coverage of pre game. ARod’s return was almost careless. The stories surrounding it were small. It seemed as if there was more news about his first day of practice than his first game. When he hit his first home run, and then his second, no one seemed to care. It was almost like people forgot about Alex Rodriguez, maybe for the better.

Once it became clear that Rodriguez was going to pass off Willie Mays on the all time home run list, no one cared that he was going to hit this milestone. The headline was that he wasn’t going to receive his bonus.

It couldn’t have been better for Rodriguez though. Throughout ARod’s entire career, he’s tried to keep himself out of the spotlight and has done a TERRIBLE job at it. Now though, even his historic accomplishments don’t make front headlines.

Maybe that’s all it took. ARod’s way out of both hatred and the spotlight was to become so hated that everyone stopped caring. However, as good as it is that this man may be able to finally be left alone, it’s sad that people have hated him for so long that they just gave up. At 39 years old, Alex Rodriguez can finally have some peace simply because people completely stopped caring about him.

So what now? It seems as if all the reasons for hating Rodriguez have been forgotten. These past mistakes have rendered him of his spotlight and the care of almost everyone. What are your reasons for hating this man now? After all the hatred this man has had to endure, and now living as though almost no one cares about him, can the hatred be dropped? After 20 years, is it finally time to forgive ARod?