Ex-Yankees star Alex Rodriguez weighs in on his Hall of Fame chances

Alex Rodriguez is on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. He's hoping voters forgive him for being PED user.
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The 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballots were mailed out last week. There are 30 candidates lined up in three columns of 10 on a white sheet of paper and included for the first time is Alex Rodriguez, who’s listed second from the top in row three.

The former Yankees star third baseman is hoping voters decide his good outweighs the bad and vote him in.

Good luck with that.

Ever.

A-Rod is in the same boat as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, fellow all-time greats who still aren’t in with nine tries down and one to go because they’re linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

A-Rod admitted using steroids a few seasons into his 22-year playing career, then he was busted for using them again later on and it led to a season-long suspension in 2014. The cheating tarnished his reputation, resulted in about $40 million in lost wages and cost him membership in the 700-homer club, which includes only Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). A-Rod retired late into the 2016 season with 696 homers.

Now a 46-year-old businessman whose many jobs include new part-owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, A-Rod recently was asked if thinks he’ll someday get a plaque in Cooperstown during an interview with a Minneapolis radio station.

“I certainly hope so, I do,” A-Rod told News Talk 830 WCCO. “But look, that’s not my decision. I put my best foot forward and my worst foot forward. Regardless of what comes out, I pray that one day my daughters and my mother get to see me walk into the Hall of Fame.”

A-Rod has realized for years that using PEDs would hurt his Hall of Fame chances. In a 2017 television interview on Undeniable with Joe Buck, A-Rod expressed regret for not just relying on his baseball talent.

“I’m the only jackass that has pocket aces and figures out a way to lose the hand,” A-Rod said. “There’s so many frustrating things when you look back at that. Number one, you have a guaranteed contract for hundreds of millions of dollars. Literally, you can sit on the couch and get fat, right? How stupid can you be? It cost me my reputation and it may have cost me the Hall of Fame.”

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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.

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