Your Turn: Does this A-Rod autograph matter?
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary
Alex Rodriguez has signed plenty of autographs during his 20-year career in Major League Baseball but the one he penned on Tuesday might be the most important one of all for some fans.
Some fans.
On Tuesday, the New York Yankees slugger released a hand-written letter apologizing for his actions of the last few years with the Biogenesis case, his suspension and the public rancor he has caused with his team.
“I served the longest suspension in the history of the league for PED use,” Rodriguez wrote. “The Commissioner has said the matter is over. The Players Association has said the same. The Yankees have said the next step is to play baseball.
“I’m ready to put this chapter behind me and play some ball.”
Rodriguez needs only seven home runs to pass Willie Mays for fourth place on the career home run list. He begins this season at age 38 with 654. He needs 109 home runs in the coming years to surpass Barry Bonds as the career home run leader.
Does it matter to collectors? Do we want his baseball cards? Would you want that autograph?
The diminishing values of his key Rookie Cards tell us one thing. Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazines. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
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I’ve gone on the record in the past saying I don’t think his baseball cards can recover from the chaos.
http://www.beckett.com/news/2013/08/alex-rodriguezs-baseball-cards-wont-recover-from-suspension-scandal/
His cards go in a special box with sosa,bonds, clemens bash bros, and the rest of the (hof) cheater class
Ban him. Cheating is cheating.
put the arod cards next to those of clemens, bonds, and mcgwire.
while they weren’t mass produced on cheap 1980s paper, that’s where they belong, with all the other dime-box leftovers.
I don’t think he’s sorry for what he did. I think he is truly sorry that he got caught. I will still collect his cards because I collect all the all-time statistical leaders regardless of how they attained their stats. However, I will not collect him with the passion I once did.
I don’t care about anything that guy has to say, nor do I believe it. This is just some desperate ploy to garner a little support from the fans and such while on his way out; he knows there’s a good chance he won’t make the team this season. Ultimately, he has become an after-thought, and he’s well aware of that fact. We all know he isn’t sorry. We all know he’s arrogant and self-serving. I’m a Yankees fan, so if he wants to apologize to me, he needs to just go out there and play ball legitimately and productively, and keep his mouth shut.
his career is ruined , his stats tainted. He is wealthy beyond belief , or should be.
Now just gracefully step aside and you wont cause any more harm to the game!
He is sorry he got caught and is trying to salvage his reputation by any means possible. I used to PC him and have been dumping his stuff as fast as I can.
I don’t agree with any of the previous comments. Although a grave cheat was committed, I loved the entire PED era and would love to see it again. When the scandal was first uncovered, everyone said that Jose Canseco was crazy and not 70 % of the major league players were doping. Well guess what! – He was right. I feel that all these players should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame should their numbers warrant it. Let’s not be hippocrates here, every one of you was giggling like a little girl when McGwire or Sosa went deep. You loved seeing high scoring ball games and you loved the pageantry that went along with all of that hoopla. Baseball was fun again, the World Series was actually being played; and people were watching. So to all of you “holier than thou” perfect people I can only say this; hitting a little white sphere traveling 90 plus miles per hour with a round stick of wood is the hardest single thing to do in sports. If A-Rod can still do it, I would enjoy watching it happen. Love him or hate him, A-Rod is still a better ball player than 99% of the players that have come and gone in Major League Baseball.
1st of all I never collected a rods cards so I could care less. But 1 quick question, what pedal did mcgwire take. Never mind what Canseco said. Just wondering
I’d like to believe his apology is heartfelt. I’m not doubting that baseball has been important to him for his whole life, and were our positions switched I honestly can say that I’m not sure what I would have done. Competition in sports is the reason everyone is looking for an ‘edge’ over the next guy.
It’s my opinion that PEDs have always existed in baseball in one form or another. Whether it was greenies, cocaine, beer, tobacco, marijuana, coffee or Coca cola. Caffeine, amphetamines, barbiturates, nicotine … Whatever your drug of choice it can improve or enhance your performance. Steroids make you stronger and return from injuries faster … But you still have to hit the round ball with the round bat. Steroids don’t make you strike out less, or improve your eyesight.
Was he guilty? Of course. Does it really matter if his apology is sincere? Of course not.
As a Yankee fan, I wish him the best of luck, a great return and a productive season.
As a baseball fan, do the numbers really matter in light of the widespread use of PEDs throughout the game?
When Sosa, Bonds and McGwire were breaking records it wasn’t such a big deal. Why is it so much more of a problem when it comes to Arod, Braun, Melky, Cruz … Etc, etc. Selig allowed it, perpetuated it and then hypocritically demonized it? I feel either everyone ‘hangs’ or everyone is absolved. You can’t pick and choose.
If the game’s integrity is so important, then start strict mandatory blood / urine testing. Impose really harsh penalties in the future. Leave the past behind, learn from your mistakes and move forward. Or let’s go back to hay-filled, shared fielding gloves and a ‘deadball’ to make things fair for the past record holders.
then you have to ban everyone that used…
Nowadays, guys are getting paid more even after they’ve been caught…
All this self-righteousness. Amazing. Take pens from work? Pad the expense account a little? How about your time card? How about your income taxes? How about relationships? Cheating is cheating, that’s pretty obvious. What’s just as obvious is that in an imperfect world everyone does it. Maybe a little, maybe a lot. Everyone does it. What happened to paid the price, now let’s forgive. It’s a game for heaven’s sake. He didn’t steal your wife. Put it into perspective. He cheated in a game that witnessed HUNDREDS of cheaters, most never called out. Be honest , during the home run contest (McGwire/Sosa), not only was cheating winked at, we all had a grand time! Owners, managers, fans, THE MEDIA all knew cheating was going on. If you say you didn’t you’re either a liar or unbelievably naive! What makes him especially deserving of such demonizing. Good looking? Filthy rich? Fun to hate. Oh, wait a minute, that’s right he’s a YANKEE! Whatever. Lets excoriate all of them! Kick them out of the game! Let’s not pick and choose to hate those we don’t like and make excuses for those we do. That’s even more hypocritical than what Arod did!
he should just retire. no matter how many home runs he hits, they don’t matter. nothing he does will matter. dead man walking
Over the past year, my Hall of Fame “on card” auto collection started with Panini Cooperstown and migrated to Upper Deck Legendary Signatures and Upper Deck Ultimate Decades to find players that had not signed with Panini (aka deceased) or may one day be in Cooperstown. Although I am not sure if Clemens or Rodriguez will be there (or should be there), when they popped up on ebay it was hard to pass up acquiring one of each. Fortunately Bonds is not in any of those sets. On the other hand, I also picked up a Leaf Pete Rose w/”Charlie Hustle” auto.
I’m from the forgive but don’t forget school. Our country is based on giving folks second chances and the possibility to redeem themselves. Like Barry once asked….”were you entertained?”. All that being said, I could really care less about Alex, the Yankees and thier fans in regards to his “problems”. His cards will never reach the high’s they once did and I really hope that my rippen “hits’ don’t include his cards…..If they do, I’ll just trade ’em to Zeprock! I do think that down the road, this “document” probably holds some value.
The man served his supension and now needs to live in the bed he made. Piling on serves no purpose for me and having never collected him, he really has no impact on my hobby passion.
people should just get over it. its like when clemens, bonds, and mcgwire were doing there thing everyone was like wow these guys are great,and everyone was watching (like they didnt know that, was going on, come on now, y was everyone so surprised when it came out. And when it happens again, ppl will be glued to the TV for who ever breaks the next big record. Its a different game now then 40 50 years ago,i say let them all take it if they want and make the game more action packed (IMO)
Sad thing is, he could have been great without cheating. Now it’s stained.
Hank Aaron is still the All-Time HR King!
I have a 1986 fleer jordan rc, but I think it is a fake, but I want to make sure. So if I were to send it in to Beckett to have it graded and they wouldn’t accept it, would I get my money back since I never got it graded?? thank you very much
Wow! I thought that Alex broke the rules and then did his punishment? I didn’t read any of the comments where folks thought cheating was acceptable. Adultry, pot smoking and morality in a referential context to the selling price of a cheaters baseball cards……no wonder society is the way it is!!!!!!
If by some chance he can play baseball (without taking his ‘PED vitamins’ ) & hit the ball, and then hit the ball out of the park AND THEN RISE TO #2 {POO-POO} ON THE ALL-TIME HR LIST……..would we call that ‘Ironic’ ? or just plain ‘Idiotic’ ?? that both #1 & #2 are linked in the sad, but true, journals of the ‘Greatest Game’ as the ‘Asterisk’ HR Champeons of all time
If he wrote, “I love the game of baseball and want to play to the right way. In fact, I’ll pay MLB and the Yankees for the right to play – just like baseball-loving kids all over the world,” I might believe him. However, as long as he accepts paychecks and endorsement monies, I’ll only believe he’s in it for the money and that’s why he cheated and lied.
Alex is just saying what he thinks people want to hear. He got caught and then continued to cheat. He had a chance to do with his talent alone a Hall of Fame Career but he chose to cheat and ruin that chance. He should show some class and just walk away from the game and let the Yankees move on. They have always been a class organization and were fair to him to make him a part of it and pay him lots of money. He spit in their faces as well as the teammates. He could have been forgiven the 1st time he got caught but then he continued on. Whether he likes it or not little children look up to him and he needs to hold himself to a higher standard.. Im looking for the next Derek Jeter to come along baseball needs more like him he loved the game and respected the game. So Arod climb up on your horse and ride away
I don’t usually believe apologies to fans because its what players that have lost fan support do. Like the comment earlier. He can apologize by playing ball and keeping a low profile. I don’t believe in cheating, but I do believe MLB should share some blame with the players caught using steroids. I think MLB looked the other way for several years.