Living Proof
But not so A-Rod. Twenty years from now will see him established as one of the voices of baseball. And a humble man who accepts praise as one of the best minds in the game deferentially.
More importantly here, his relationship with the Yankees looks like it will keep becoming more intimate and influential. And so it will be he who appears at Spring Trainings, and who helps shepherd the next waves of Yankees stars.
It is his face that Yankees fans will see most often in the owner’s box. And it is Alex Rodriguez they will see riding with the owner’s and advisers for the next thirteen championship rides down the Canyon of Heroes over that time.
I know some of you will have something to say about that in the comments section.
Imagine; That was an Easy One
Imagine it, though. It is 2039. The Yankees are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their 2009 World Series. As they announce the players, who would receive the biggest applause? It could be Jeter. He did a lot more to help the Yankees win a championship than Alex.
That thinking, however, might also be time out of mind by then.
A-Rod might very well be the bright smiling forever face of the Nineties’ Yankees, and one of the most well-liked men in the game. It is most probable, for instance, that not getting into the Hall will only make him more sympathetic by then.
He will be the flawed man, the man who found redemption. And the man who powered that 2009 team to the World Series.
That sympathy, along with his own #Respect for his brilliant work as a baseball analyst, and by then lifetime commitment to the Yankees, will elevate him perhaps past Jeterian status.
Of course, the most ironic part of it is that these men are swapping roles doing precisely what they did as players.