Alex Rodriguez will remain a Yankee for the foreseeable future as he appeals his 211-game suspension, but there is one place where he will not be in pinstripes — on the big screen.
A-Rod was originally cast to play the hero in an upcoming 100-minute animated film, “Henry & Me.” The movie depicts the history of the Yankees and features the team’s current and former stars, but investors have decided to cut his role out of the film because of fears that his recent suspension and subsequent controversy surrounding him will hurt the marketability of the film, according to the New York Post.
“We have investors that we have to answer to, just like the Yankees,” said executive producer Ray Negron, a Yankees adviser whose children’s books served as the inspiration for the film. “If ownership decides that this is a direction that we have to go, meaning our investors, we have to listen to ownership. That’s just the way it is. It works just like a team. It’s the same thing.”
While the Yankees had some say in the film, and they gave their full support to the movie, the organization said the final word about the Rodriguez decision lies with the eight or nine investors who don’t believe the recent allegations tie in with the family-oriented message they are trying to send.
“I love Alex Rodriguez, but I love kids more, and at the end of the day, we don’t want to get caught up with everything that’s happening right now,” Negron said. “This is too important a message of what we’re trying to relay to kids and we don’t want to get caught up with that … We’ll need to raise more money, but it’s worth it if it means getting a good product out to the kids.”
Rodriguez had already done the voice work for the movie, but the third baseman will be replaced by Hideki Matsui, who originally was cast in the role before being traded to the Angels in 2010. Producer Joseph Avallone says the editing process to remove A-Rod from the film will take months and “cost a fortune.”
Rodriguez had not been informed of the changes as of Wednesday evening.
