There have been few comeback stories in the history of sports that have been more stunning than what Alex Rodriguez has done over the last five years.
Rodriguez’s comeback is not tied to on-field production, but rather what he has accomplished since his playing days ended. Somehow one of the most polarizing players in MLB history has repaired his once tarnished public image in short order.
Go back to 2014, when Rodriguez was serving the longest steroid-related suspension that had ever been given out at the time, and it would have been impossible to foresee his second career after baseball.
Yet here we are in 2020, where Rodriguez is now employed by both FOX and ESPN and is also engaged to an A-list celebrity in Jennifer Lopez.
Appearing as the “mystery guest” on WFAN’s Moose and Maggie show yesterday, former New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca made some waves after being very critical of Rodriguez, who he described as “One of the fakest people out there.” Lo Duca is not clear of past wrongdoings himself, as he used steroids during his playing days as well.
Back in 2007, Lo Duca was one of 89 players that was named on the now infamous Mitchell Report, which was a pre-requisite to Major League Baseball cutting down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. When the report was released in December, Lo Duca was coming off his second and final season playing for the Mets.
“I was in the Mitchell Report, something I’ll never be proud of and something that was a mistake of mine a long time ago,” Lo Duca said. “But I owned up to it. I didn’t lie. Owned up to it immediately, it was over with, and people can judge me the way they want to judge me. I could care less.”
Since being implicated in the report, Lo Duca has spoken very candidly about his use of steroids. Because of his honesty over the years, the former catcher clearly doesn’t respect Rodriguez and his past with steroid use.
“When you completely lie about it for years after years after years after years, you cash in 260 million and people are like, ‘Well, he’s successful,’ well, hell yeah, he’s successful. He got paid over 500 million in his career, I would hope he has some money where he could do whatever he wants with it. So now his relationship with JLo has taken him to a level that he’s a saint, give me a break!”
Lo Duca doesn’t understand how no one else sees through the facade that Rodriguez has created and why everyone has “put him on a pedestal,” despite his checkered past.
Just this past week, ABC’s senior editorial producer John Stantucci reported that president Donald Trump had reached out to Rodriguez for his opinion regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was not long ago that Rodriguez was threatening to take the MLB to federal court over his PED-suspension, vehemently denying all allegations against him, despite the mountain of evidence that suggested otherwise. After years of denials, Rodriguez has since come clean about his history with steroids and has repaired his image to the point where the government is reaching out to him during our greatest crisis.
Over the last few years it has become obvious that Rodriguez is getting to enjoy the post-career that suits a former player with his resume of being a three-time MVP and 14-time All-Star. Yet there will always be some like Lo Duca that will never forget about his mistakes, which have been swept under the rug to get Rodriguez to this point.
