Share this article

Years Before Dominating MLB, Frustrated Alex Rodriguez Almost Ended His Baseball Career Even Before It Started

Published 09/22/2023, 10:30 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

Many players have come and gone, but few remain a part of the sport’s history. Former New York Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez is also one such name. He played for over two decades and became a part of the MLB legacy. Although his aura continues to inspire many who take baseball as a sport, doubts surfaced in the athlete’s career, given that it’s a competitive sport. As a result, Rodriguez almost ended his baseball career.

America’s Favorite Video Today

Rodriguez made his MLB debut at the age of 18. But they found it tough to contend with the expectations and had a difficult period in the clubhouse. They challenged him there, which brought frustration that almost made him change his thoughts and doubts about his choice. Years after retiring as a legend, Rodriguez opened up about incidents that could have changed the entire course of his life.

When They Put Alex Rodriguez Under a To and Fro Motion

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Baseball is a challenging sport and demands a lot from athletes. Alex Rodriguez faced this test in his first MLB season with the Seattle Mariners after they sent him into the minors multiple times. Given that Alex wanted stability in his first season, it made him sad, and wanted to end it with a change.

Two years back, Rodriguez revealed it in a conversation with David Ortiz and Jared Carrabis. He said, “Yeah, so what happened was not the first time, but they sent me down five times in one year. And I said to Lou Piniella, I said, Look, I should be a freshman in college. Why am I going up and down five times? I’m never going to develop this way and just leave me down or leave me up but five times in one year was too much.”

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest MLB stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Because of this, Rodriguez thought of shifting his focus from baseball to football. But after getting wise words from his mother, A-Rod made a stronger comeback that helped him streamline his lost path to success.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Rodriguez Became a Synonym for Comebacks

Alex Rodriguez is a name that has gone into the history books, all thanks to his legendary career. The former shortstop played for over two decades. The 14x All-Star participated in 2700 games and scored 2086 runs, averaging 0.285. Apart from that, he is also fifth in the all-timers of the league with 696 home runs. However, the road was never easy for him.

“Wish I Had 700…”- 5 Years After Shedding Pinstripes at 696 Homers, Alex Rodriguez Opened Up About Possibilities to Achieve His Home Run Dream, But Not With The Yankees

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Rodriguez had to go through tough periods in his career. It includes his slump and later his PED case that dented his MLB career. But the star player made comebacks from all and became a synonym for them.
But the story could have been entirely different had Rodriguez shifted to football. Isn’t it? What is your perspective on this? Let us know in the comments below!

WATCH THIS STORY – Cracking the Record Books – Top 5 Baseball Players With Most Career Home Runs

Providing feedback will help us make your experience better.

The Fan's Perspective

Enjoyed Your Read? Let us know how likely you are to recommend EssentiallySports to your friends!

Least Likely

Most Likely

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by:

Saurabh Saini

769Articles

One take at a time

Even after having an engineering background, nothing stopped Saurabh Saini from following his passion and writing about sports. With a sound knowledge of American sports, Saurabh specializes in baseball. Before joining EssentiallySports, Saurabh has written around 800 articles spanning MLB, NFL, and NHL.
Show More>

Edited by:

Deepanshi Bajaj

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK