AN OPEN LETTER TO ALEX RODRIGUEZ

I have taken the better part of the last year and a half to cover Alex Rodriguez and his legal woes. I have done my best to remain non-bias. I have kept the BYB readers in the know using facts. Sometimes they understood it, sometimes they didn't. What I haven't done is taken a moment to express how I felt about the entire thing. Honestly, I enjoy the non-bias approach. It cannot be misconstrued as emotionally blind. But, like every other fan of baseball, I have an opinion on the matter. And so I write this letter to ARod.

Alex,

For over a year I have researched everything relating to you. Your name shows up in my Google search immediately. All for the sake of providing our readers a non-bias perspective on things. Once or twice I will get a reader that me, and even had a reader tell me that the way I covered the story really made him change his opinion on you; for the better! 

I have said time and again that the suspension was unjust based on the Joint Drug Agreement. You are technically considered a first time offender without a positive drug result. I also said that if you were guilty, the punishment should fit the crime. Even with your recent admission of guilt coming to light, the suspension was not in line with the Joint Drug Agreement. I have scoffed, and laughed at publications that have taken the smallest moments of your life, and twist them into something perverse and completely comical in an effort to further deem and humiliate you. I feel like despite what other think of you, you deserved a fair coverage. One not tainted but the passion and politics that is involved in baseball. And now, I say simply say to you:

"Show up, be consistent, and grind it!"

Look, I understand that everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately for you, because of your career choice, your mistakes are public knowledge and often the object of ridicule. People who do not know you personally often feel they are best suited to cast judgement on you. I'm not going to do that. I have never conversed with you, though I would not be opposed to an interview if you have a moment for Bleeding Yankee Blue.

What I will do is root for my team. The Yankees. And you, being a member of that team, gets my support as much as the next man wearing the uniform. I'm not going to pretend that you are perfect or expect from you the same thing I when you were a rookie all those years ago. But I am going to hope you have a great season. Your success contributes to the teams success, and the ultimate goal is always for the team to succeed.

I know your troubles may not be over, and that is unfortunate for you. Honestly, I have always been a fan. Even when you wore the Seattle uniform. It's sad to see that your career and reputation has taken the turn that it did. I always thought you had one of the sweetest swings in baseball. It was smooth and nearly flawless. To see someone who in my childhood I admired quite deeply travel this path is disheartening. Again, I understand that as humans, we all make mistakes.

All that I want to see from you now is a commitment to the team. Learn from this last season, and everything that led up to it. Be humbled by the experience, and play some baseball. There is still time for you end your career on a bit of a positive note. Take that opportunity. Become a better person... you can still inspire people. Be the person that changed their life around. But it all starts now.

Show up, be consistent, and grind it!

You've been taking the time this offseason to show up in the batting cages. Showing a dedication to get into playing condition. That is a start. Keep that fire sparked all season. Play to the best of your ability. Do not coast! Work harder every day. Honestly, it may not change the minds of many who continue to demean you. It may not be enough to quiet the critics, but it is a step in the right direction. Once more, I do not know you personally. I only know what you have done in your career, as presented to me by the media. That is all I have. But, I can tell you this... a man that learns from his mistakes, allows the experience to humble him, then fights for a chance to better himself is admirable. Be that person!

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 

Twitter: @e_morales1804

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