Alex Rodriguez just admitted something Boston Red Sox fans have been saying for years.
The former New York Yankees third baseman is no stranger to controversy, but there’s one thing in his past he particularly regrets. In 2013, Rodriguez went on Mike Francesa’s radio show on WFAN in New York to defend himself against allegations of performance-enhancing drug use in the Biogenesis scandal.
A-Rod insisted Major League Baseball’s investigation was personal and that then-commissioner Bud Selig hated his guts, adding that the league doesn’t “like big salaries.”
The allegations, of course, turned out to be true, and Rodriguez was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season. But speaking to a crowd of University of Miami students Thursday at a luncheon, Rodriguez addressed many aspects of his past, and this is what he had to say about his 2013 radio appearance.
“I think just being a big jerk, you know?” Rodriguez said, per CBSSports.com. “I was just a really big jerk. … I made mistakes and then I doubled down and became a bigger jerk and then went on sports radio and made an ass of myself.”
It’s good that Rodriguez is owning up to his actions, and it could be a strategic move, too, as it might garner sympathy among Hall of Fame voters who are stingy about letting in even those who only were accused of PED use. Over a 22-year career, A-Rod tallied 3,115 hits, 696 home runs and was a 14-time All-Star, 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner and three-time MVP.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
