In the early 1990s, a young talent burst onto baseball’s biggest stage. His skill behind a bat was evident, and he seemed hungry for knowledge. From great stats on the field to equally record-breaking contract numbers, Alex Rodriguez was one of the greatest ballplayers MLB had ever seen. And during a recent interview, A-Rod disclosed an unconventional method he employed to master the game of baseball.

Although the ex-Yankee’s steroid usage keeps him from a Hall of Fame induction, not many can deny that he was a talent even without the performance-enhancing drugs in his bloodstream. Long before Alex Rodriguez became A-Rod, he had always loved baseball. Even if he was naturally talented, the former New York Yankee did everything he could to clinch a victory. And recently, he revealed one of those tactics that helped him earn the title of ‘great’.

Alex Rodriguez became his own baseball scout!

Talent spotters can usually define the likely trajectory an individual’s life will take based on their play. But instead of relying on others, Rodriguez took matters into his own hands. Like most passionate athletes, the former shortstop used technology to analyze his performance post-games.

In a recent talk with Walker and Dunlop, Rodriguez revealed once back home, not only would he watch the game but recap it. “What did we learn, and why’d you lay off that 2-1 pitch, and how did you take that 1-2 pitch? Because you laid off that 1-2 pitch, you got it to 2-2, and boom, then you hit the home run. But people just go to the home run, they don’t know that you had the discipline to lay off that sucker pitch to get that pitch for a home run,” the retired baseballer said.

READ MORE – “I Just Love the Game” – Yankees Legend Alex Rodriguez Reveals the Approach He Took to Go From Playing Baseball to Analyzing It

A-Rod also used an example of playing against West Coast teams, “I would go home, I would watch all the West Coast games...I’m facing them [the Angels] next week, I wanted to go out and have all my binders with all my notes with every team…I didn’t wanna see scouting reports, I wanted to scout myself. And I wanted to do it about a week out. Because then I can formulate a plan and my kind of secondary thinking.”

Is it any wonder that many thought he was bound for Cooperstown until that one fatal mistake? Today, all his preparation and mind-blowing stats on the field, despite all his achievements, was it all for nothing?

A-Rod chose baseball but will it choose him back?

A Hall of Fame title differentiates the talented from the ‘greats’. But just because of a single mistake from his youth, have all of Rodriguez’s extreme efforts gone down the drain? Certainly, it wouldn’t be the world’s end if A-Rod never got a Cooperstown induction. His continuous efforts to remain connected with his beloved sport are forever etched into the pages of history.

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The extreme care he put into getting ready for each game is handy for his career as an MLB analyst today. Simply put, he has an eye for baseball. But will the sport recognize those struggles by awarding him one of the greatest titles?