"Would they want that number there with the greats whoever played?" - Sports broadcaster Don La Greca shares his take on the possibility of New York Yankees retiring Alex Rodriguez's jersey number
On "The Michael Kay Show," sports broadcaster Don La Greca and radio DJ Peter Rosenberg discussed whether the New York Yankees should retire Alex Rodriguez's jersey.
A-Rod is considered one of the top players in New York Yankees' history. However, Rodriguez's suspension for using illegal performance-enhancing drugs muddled his baseball career. Rodriguez played the final game of his career on August 12, 2016.
In MLB, retiring a player's jersey number is a way to honor him for his contributions to the team. Therefore, the topic of retiring A- Rod's jersey number is undoubtedly a contentious subject.
On the radio talk show, a caller who happened to be a New York Yankees fan asked La Greca:
"I am a Yankees fan and want to ask do you guys think that we should retire A-Rod's number?"
Don responded:
"If you base it on the numbers, yes! If you base it on how the fan base feels about him, you tell me… How do you think the fan base feels about him? He did sue the team he played for?… Do they love him or hate him? Would they want that number there with the greats whoever played?
The Yankees fan replied:
"I mean I think a lot of people think him as this MVP caliber player that won a World Series, won a lot of batting titles and was just an overall great player. Then, you have other people who just see like you know when he slapped it out of the glove and all the things he said about Jeter and all the you know the bad press and I do think it's 50-50."
He added:
"But I think the baseball really comes down to how you play as a player. And, I think that it should really be his numbers and how her performed."
After patiently listening to the Yankees fan, Le Greca suggested running a poll to see what Yankee fans want.
"Peter and I are big on well what does the fan base want. May be we can run a poll."
Le Greca felt the need to subtly add that Alex Rodriguez might have impeccable statistics, but he did cheat by taking steroids.
"Forget about him slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s hands, and the things he said about Jeter… The numbers say he is one of the great Yankees of all time. But he did lie, he did cheat."
"Retire Alex Rodriguez's Number? Would Yankees Ever Consider?" - Char Post Media
Don Le Greca didn't sugarcoat his words and called a spade a spade.
Don La Greca spoke about the possibility of Alex Rodriguez's induction into the Hall of Fame, made comparisons to Hall of Famer David Ortiz
On "The Michael Kay Show," Don Le Greca compared Alex Rodriguez to Hall of Famer David Ortiz.
Oritz never tested positive for any prohibited substances after the MLB imposed regulations in 2004. However, one of his drug test samples came back positive in 2003 when the MLB tested players for a confidential survey.
Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz, MLBPA plan Saturday news conference for 2003 drug test - http://tinyurl.com/l9dzwg
"Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz, MLBPA plan Saturday news conference for 2003 drug test."
Referring to it, Le Greca said:
"Ortiz is going in the Hall of Fame now, so I mean if he’s [David Ortiz] in the hall of fame, how do you not retire his [Alex Rodriguez] number?”
He added that the world has moved on when it comes to A-Rod's PED scandal.
"The baseball would have forgiven him. I mean the world has forgiven him, he’s got the KayRod cast. He’s calling world series games like pre and post. I think people have gone over the PED stuff.”
In 2022, Alex Rodriguez was on the Hall of Fame ballot. However, he bagged only 34.3% on the HOF votes and was thus eliminated from the Class of 2022. To be eligible, he would need to get 75% of the votes in a Hall of Fame election.