Hank Aaron Says Alex Rodriguez Would Be Even Better If He Had Focus Like Derek Jeter

by Mike Cole on Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 8:54PM

Assuming he stays healthy, and assuming he keeps up his usual pace, Alex Rodriguez could very well become baseball's all-time home run king before he retires. The man who currently occupies the No. 2 position on that list thinks Rodriguez has a chance if he can just focus a little more.

Hank Aaron spoke with the New York Post about the state of baseball, but some of the conversation centered around a potential home run record chase for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who will turn 36 in late July, enters the season with 613 career home runs. That puts him 142 shy of Aaron's 755, and 149 shy of the all-time leader Barry Bonds who hit 762 round-trippers. Aaron said surpassing Bonds is doable for Rodriguez — but there's a catch.

"I think he is [a threat to break the record],"Aaron said. "If he puts things were it's supposed to be at. I think Rodriguez has got too many irons in the fire right now. I think his head's not level enough to the point where he can have the kind of year that it takes in order to go past all of the records in the book."

If that wasn't enough of a kick in the pants for A-Rod, the Hall of Famer went on to contrast Rodriguez's shortcomings with the focus of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

"If [Rodriguez's] focus would be the same as Jeter, then I think he can do some great — he's already done some great things — he can do some even greater things," Aaron explained. "I think sometimes it wavers … It [doesn't] stay on the same level."