A humbled Alex Rodriguez crowned a season of milestones with his 3,000th career hit on Friday and thanked the Yankees and manager Joe Girardi for the chance to come back and play this season.
Rodriguez, who is turning 40 next month and was banned the entire season last year for violating Major League Baseball’s doping policy, became the 29th player ever to reach 3,000 hits. The slugger did so fittingly with his 13th home run of the season.
“A year ago today I didn’t know if this day would ever come,” he said after the 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Photo: AFP
“There were some really dark days. I got to tell you I’m really grateful for Joe Girardi. He’s given me every opportunity,” Rodriguez said.
“I’m grateful. I’m extremely appreciative to the Yankees for giving me an opportunity to put the uniform back on,” he said.
A-Rod’s return was primarily a business decision, as the team owed him US$64 million for the last three years of a contract that had made him MLB’s highest paid player.
However, Rodriguez has made the Bronx Bombers happy to have him, as he has exceeded all expectations at the plate and helped the Yankees (37-30) contend in the American League East.
“We’re very excited for him, happy for him,” Girardi said. “The guys, you could see the emotion.”
After clobbering the first pitch he saw from Detroit’s Justin Verlander, teammates greeted him with hugs in front of the dugout as the crowd of nearly 45,000 roared.
“I just think it shows you how much our guys pull for Alex,” the manager said. “He’s worked hard and never stopped believing in himself.”
Yankees catcher Brian McCann was thrilled to have witnessed the achievement by Rodriguez, who this season has also moved up to fourth on both the all-time home run and RBI rankings.
“What an amazing accomplishment,” McCann told a pair of reporters in the clubhouse.
“He’s one of the best players to ever put on a uniform, to ever pick up a bat and play the game. He’s one of the best players to ever play the game,” McCann said.
Girardi said Rodriguez’s comeback underlined the power of redemption in sports.
“People get second and third chances, and people really pull for people to do well and get off the carpet and respond and be productive, and that’s what he’s doing,” Girardi said.
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Nationals 4, Pirates 1
‧ Pirates 1, Nationals 4
‧ Cardinals 12, Phillies 4
‧ Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4
‧ Rays 4, Indians 1
‧ Reds 5, Marlins 0
‧ Braves 2, Mets 1
‧ Red Sox 7, Royals 3
‧ Rangers 2, White Sox 1
‧ Twins 7, Cubs 2
‧ Brewers 9, Rockies 5
‧ Angels 12, Athletics 7
‧ Diamondbacks 4, Padres 2
‧ Mariners 5, Astros 2
‧ Giants 9, Dodgers 5
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB