With his extremely long suspension for PED use complete, Alex Rodriguez says he's ready to ready to get back in pinstripes. The player issued a handwritten apology to fans, Major League Baseball, the Yankees—basically everyone—saying, "I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season. I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be."
Rodriguez adds, "I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that I say at this point. I understand why and that’s on me." He also explained why he wasn't going to have a press conference for the apology, "It was gracious of the Yankees to offer me the use of Yankee Stadium for this apology but I decided the next time I am in Yankee Stadium, I should be in pinstripes doing my job."
Rodriguez was a client of Anthony Bosch, whose clinic Biogenesis offered performance-enhancing drugs to a range of athletes. Bosch was sentenced to four years in prison today.
The Daily News writes, "Whether Rodriguez has anything left in the tank has been up for speculation ever since he was suspended. He’s had two major hip surgeries since 2009." ESPN says, "The Yankees owe Rodriguez $61 million over the remaining three years on his contract. New York has shown no inclination to release the three-time MVP," and highlights some of what the slugger and reporter J.R. Moehringer discussed for the upcoming ESPN magazine interview:
• [Rodriguez] believes that what Tony Bosch gave him might have been a placebo. "Only me," Rodriguez said of his relationship with Bosh. "Only a dope like me would do that stuff and have the two worst statistical seasons of my career." Bosch was sentenced to four years in jail Tuesday after pleading guilty last October to conspiracy to distribute testosterone.
• He considered retirement early in his suspension for the 2014 season.
• He has been in therapy, and Moehringer calls his therapist "one of two people in the world who know something close to the whole story."
• He sought the counsel of, and spent time with, Barry Bonds, who he regards as a hitting scientist.
• He is concerned about telling the whole story to his 10-year-old daughter, Natasha.
"You had pocket aces!" Rodriguez told Moehringer. "Pocket. Aces. And somehow you blew the hand. You could've walked away years ago. You could've grown a beard, gotten fat, and you'd have had a career to be proud of, and you'd be a lock for the Hall. But no. You had to ... had to..."
