Comments on: Revisiting the Tragic Hero: Do We Still Hate A-Rod?

By: Janelle

Janelle — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:13:35 +0000

I still think he’s a piece of shit.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:14:07 +0000

I don’t know how people feel about A-Rod around the league but I think he has redeemed himself in New York. They won the championship and he had perhaps his first good post-season. As the saying goes, winning cures all ills.

By: Kenneth Morgan

Kenneth Morgan — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:53:22 +0000

I can still remember where I was on the road while listening to A-Rod hit his double in Detroit to complete the Cycle in 1997. It’s absolutely criminal that he finished behind Juan Gon in MVP votes in 1996. That being said, I can’t think of a player in MLB I’ve hated more than A-Fraud over the past decade.

It started after he left us for Texas, of course. If he would’ve simply stated that he left because of a raise, I would’ve accepted that. The Mariners offered him a large amount of money too. I suppose he wanted 4 diamond-encrusted self-portraits in his mansion instead of 3? He was adament that the reason he left was because he felt he had a better chance to win in Texas. Going from a team that came legitimately close to a World Series to a team that had won 71 games the year before; his response failed the sniff test. I, along with many other fans just felt flat out slapped in the face by a phony.

Over the years he has decided to add some fuel to the fire: joining the Yankees, lying on national television about his Steroids history, posing for photos where he is smootching himself in a mirror while shirtless, etc…He is just a disgusting, phony human being. This can’t possibly be the same person I grew up loving in elementary/junior high.

Eric, over the past 5 years you’ve talked with many many Mariners fans. The topic of A-Rod may not have always come up. When it did though, how many of them still had any amount of respect for the guy? You initially came into the A-Rod debate(situation?) relatively neutral and were primarily influenced by the unrealistic expectations the people of New York had for him, correct? I’m not sure that his unfair treatment in New York outweighs the damage he has inflicted to the majority of a fanbase + his other shortcomings that you’ve learned about over the years.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:49:11 +0000

I’ve hated A-Rod ever since he left Seattle. I’ve never really had a problem with him leaving for money. I’m sure if I had the chance to make a lot of money and let people negotiate to pay me the most, I would do whatever I could to make sure that happens, but what really got me was an alleged story where, after the playoff loss that ended the Ms season (against the Yankees?), A-Rod told Carlos Guillen “This is your team now.” Then he played the free agency game knowing he was never going to stay in Seattle yet allowing the Mariners to raise his price tag. That always bothered me (yes, even though I have no way of proving the story is true). Anyway, now that I live in Boston (I have to admit, I love the sports cultures of different metropolitan areas), my A-Rod anger has evolved into simply hating that he’s on the Yankees. Hey, a Mariners fan can hate the Yanks too, right? Also, it’s always nice to dislike him just to keep the jokes about his name being “a rod” open.

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:43:09 +0000

Eric, where is the discussion of his new status as outed cheater?

Surely the boulder was lifted from his shoulders, and he was free after that not only to play well but to have fun at it. Did that free up the tension in his neck that was keeping him from hitting in the postseason? Yes, yes it did.

The spot was washed from his garments.

By: JesseP

JesseP — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:40:55 +0000

I’m a bitter Seattle sports fan, admittedly jealous of the championship glory enjoyed by New York and Boston in particular, but really just about every other major city. Of course I hate A-Rod. Before last October, I experienced perverse pleasure knowing that even though he spurned us for Texas and became a giant D-bag, he still hadn’t won it all. Schadenfraude.

Now that’s gone. And now that I think about it, maybe time has healed old wounds a bit. My hate for him is probably only even with the generic hate I have for all post-Mattingly Yankees. That means for me, he’s slightly less hated than the Rally Monkey and Rod Blagojevich. He’s just no longer worth all that negative energy.