Alex Rodriguez: the name conjures up thoughts of scandals, questionable behavior, an arrogant attitude and massive amounts of steroid use. Despite A-Rod’s constant denial of using PEDs, it is obvious that no one really believes him. After all the revelations, the investigations and the positive drug tests (2003) it is obvious that Rodriguez is, and always was lying.
If you still don’t have enough proof that A-Rod is really “A-Roid” then take a look at his career stats and achievements.
The first (and most obvious) stat to look at for proof of A-Rod’s steroid use is his home runs. In A-Rod’s first seven seasons in MLB with the Seattle Mariners, he hit 189 home runs. That included a 19-HR spike from 1997 to 1998 (23 home runs in ’97, 42 in ’98). He even hit over 40 home runs in all three of his final three seasons in Seattle. After hitting 189 home runs with the Mariners, A-Rod went to Texas to play for the Rangers. In just three seasons in Texas, Rodriguez hit an astounding 156 home runs. What is even more unbelievable is that A-Rod hit 109 home runs in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. He even had his career-high in home runs with 57 in 2002 (He lead the entire league in HRs that season). The long bombs continued into his Yankee career, as he currently has 654 career homers, and he had another huge year in 2007 with 54 home runs. The power increase from his early days in Seattle through the middle of his career is astounding, and percentage wise can not simply be explained as a player hitting his prime. The increase was so great that there must be other factors in play.
A couple of other major things to look at for Rodriguez are his awards, milestones and number of games played in each season. When the rumors first surfaced that A-Rod was on PEDs, and there were reports that he had failed drug tests in 2003, which is the same season that he won his first AL MVP award, as well as a Silver Slugger award, and the same season that he broke the 300 home run mark (hitting 47 that year).
Now onto another key stat: number of games played. The MLB season is 162 games long, and it is the longest season of any professional sport in America. When you add in the fact that 9-inning games can range anywhere from two-to-five hours long, in heat that is sometimes very extreme, it is obvious that there can be a lot of wear-and-tear on a player’s body. Quite often you will see managers resting their star players for one or two games every few weeks just so they can stay healthy. A-Rod is a star player who goes all out every game, and still there were multiple seasons in which Rodriguez didn’t need a break at all. In his three seasons with the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez missed one single game. He played all 162 games in 2001-2002, and played 161 in 2003.
Now maybe you’ve noticed two things: that steroids give you more energy, and when A-Rod played in Texas, he had plenty of it. They also speed up recovery time, and limit the number of games a player misses in a season.
However, his three seasons in Texas were not the only times he displayed an incredible amount of long-term stamina. In A-Rod’s 2005 season with the Yankees, he once again played all 162 games. Also, he won another MVP that year, and had yet another huge power-hitting year with 48 home runs, leading the American League.
The final major season to look at is A-Rod’s most recent MVP season, as we go back to the 2007 season. In 2007, Alex Rodriguez missed only four games all season, and hit a whopping 54 home runs. Not only did Rodriguez smash home runs, play 158 games and win another MVP; but he also reduced his body fat from 16% to 9%, meaning that he had put on a considerable amount of muscle.
Looking at the numbers for Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, it is blatantly obvious that his steroid use was giving him a major advantage over the rest of the league.
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