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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 12: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees looks on after being introduced for a ceremony honoring his retirement from baseball prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 12, 2016 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 12: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees looks on after being introduced for a ceremony honoring his retirement from baseball prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 12, 2016 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)
If not for his controversies, Alex Rodriguez was a once-in-a-lifetime hitter in the game of baseball. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, A-Rod meant entertainment. He was one of the most promising talents in the league.
Having played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in the early days of his professional career, A-Rod was already a star in Major League Baseball. But when he came to the New York Yankees, little did he know that this team was full of superstars. So, it took him a while to get settled in the Yankees clubhouse.
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After playing for the Mariners and Rangers, A-Rod finally found his dream team in the Pinstripes. While playing for the Yankees, he broke several records and became a club legend. But it was not easy for A-Rod to do so.
It took a while for Alex Rodriguez to get settled in the Yankees clubhouse
Be it for the Rangers or the Mariners, Alex Rodriguez was more of a leader in those clubhouses. But when he came to the Yankees, there were more successful players than him in the Yankees clubhouse. In the name of Derek Jeter, the Yanks already had a leader.
So this was a bit unexpected for A-Rod. However, after a few years, A-Rod got settled in the environment. While talking to the Red Sox legend David Ortiz in an old interview, he said the same.
“It probably took me three or four years to get comfortable in New York and say, “okay now, this is my team, this is my home…” It takes time… When Papi, you came from Minnesota, you were just, I got nothing to lose. I am going nothing but upside,” said Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod put more pressure on himself to get used to the new environment.
“For me, it was nothing to win, like I had just won MVP and the Gold Glove. And I was not a four-time champion like the rest of the crew (the Yankees players). So, I put more pressure on myself and I needed to. But that was my frame of mind,” A-Rod added.
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Do you think Alex Rodriguez was wrong to think of himself as a leader in a new clubhouse?
Written by
Edited by
Vibhanshu Kumar