Alex Rodriguez, a bona-fide superstar, has never really been given his due.  Until very recently (as in roughly two weeks ago) he was never fully appreciated by his own fans.  All that really tells us is something we already knew: the fans of this particular baseball team tend to not be very bright.  Nothing he has ever done warrants the scorn he has received in comparison to the accolades thrown at the guy playing 30 feet to his left.

His appetite for transvestite strippers notwithstanding, when you think about the discussion of the best third basemen of this decade, his name is probably the one that jumps out in your mind.  But, is it really a cut-and-dry discussion?

Obviously, we’re only considering the  years in which A-Rod was actually playing 3B.  When you stack him up against Wright and Rolen, it’s actually much closer than you would think.  Both Wright and Rolen have had seasons that were better than A-Rod’s best at his current position, and Rolen in particular has the benefit of a few more years at the position.

While this analysis might make the discussion a bit more interesting, A-Rod still walks away with the tiara here.  He has one quality that the other three guys on this list never had: durability.  Not once has A-Rod actually had a season significantly shortened by injury, or even an off-year.  He did have that hip problem early last season, but there was no rust to shake off when he returned, no adjustment period where he went 2 for 20 while getting his bearings. He dove right back into the batter’s box and started bashing pitches at a ridiculous pace like he always does.  He’s a machine.

Years from now, when Rodriguez finally hangs up his cleats and disposes of his syringes, there is a very real chance that he will have broken the all-time HR record.

3B: Alex Rodriguez

Comments are closed