AROD IS THE HYDROX OF BASEBALL

When I was a kid, we often got knock-off brand stuff when my Pop did the grocery shopping.  We'd get Toasted Oaties instead of Cheerios.  If we got soda, which rarely happened because, "that stuff rots your teeth, we'd get RC or the A-Treat brand. The biggest gripe I had was the cookie game.  

He'd get Hydrox instead of Oreos! Yes, I'm aware that they were the original 1908 cookie...but they were lousy. IT WAS THE WORST!! We'd beg my mom, "Hey!  Go to Stop 'n Shop!  He's killing us with this stuff!"

Where are you going with this is a fair question right now.  Look, Alex Lopez Rodriguez is the Hydrox of the baseball world. I sat and thought about it a lot during the pandemic and his attempt to buy the New York Mets...ya know the Red Vines of the Big Apple?  Yeah, those guys.

Since meeting in the 1990's Alex has been in some sad races to keep up with Jeter.  He was his "best pal" only to toss him under the bus in a GQ article.  Since then he's been doing all he can to be exactly like Jeter.  From branding himself, to trying to pose as a fellow Yankee Great, Alex is a tragic tale in my opinion.  He had it all and instead of truly being like the Captain and always staying on task, he cheated, lied and then cheated and lied again.

I would have thought it would have ended once the two players hung up their spikes, but not so much. A-Lo is, like his love interest, a Diva.  He is all show.  A great baseball talent without question and one of the most gifted I ever saw play.  No, it's the rest of Alex that makes him unlikable to me... on a Hall of Fame Level.

Derek Jeter wasn't perfect.  I know many want to believe that, but Derek had his issues too.  He was a wet mop when dealing with the press.  He seemed at times bothered by fans looking for a picture or autograph, but Jeet was what he was.  There wasn't much more.  He was an Alpha Competitor and a worker.  He lead by example, respected the game and those he played with and against.  Alex seems to hold respect for one person and one person only...Alex Rodriguez.  Sure, he lauds Derek with praise and will refer to him as "his Captain"...but he doesn't really mean it.  

You can read J-Rod like USA Today.  His poker face is barely skin deep....moisturized and bronzed up as it often is.  He may have played like a 1st ballot Cooperstown shoe-in...but he isn't. 

Jeter is an owner?  Well, Alex I guess you need to be one too! It's nuts.  Would he be a great owner?  I have no clue.  Watching how he went about trying to become one made me like him even less than I did before.  

I rooted for him when he played in the Bronx, but his public persona has always made me cringe.  Alex is "LA" in my opinion.  The whole town is a movie set.  The people aren't just actors trying to get their big break, they are actors with their "friends".  They never break character...so many "knock-offs" of their actual selves.  Sure, they look and act like people you know... but it's just the label trying to look like the real thing...it's all package and no product.

So you're asking... Why are you writing this now, O'Hara?  Well, because Alex isn't really doing much these days.  Yes, he tried and failed to get the Mets. Sure, he is no longer making people say, "Wow, ARod is good on this broadcast."  Most see him as the Ryan Seacrest of Sports Announcing.....not funny, not engaging...not needed. Look, the real reason I'm writing this is because the pandemic has made us all take a minute or millions of minutes to reflect on what is real.  What is important, and who really matters to us.  

People like ARod are truly out there in bunches. You can open your window and toss a rock (PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME) and hit 12 people like him.  The real deal is harder to find.  Keep looking for them...it's worth it.  Spend the little extra to get the Oreos.  Trust me... you'll know where that extra time and money went.

Tell'em Fellas!

--Mike O'Hara

BYB Contributor

Twitter: @mikeyoh21