MLB Great Alex Rodriguez Reveals How Grave Mistake That “Cost Me the Hall of Fame” Can Still Help Redeem Himself

Not many baseball players have as storied a career as Alex Rodriguez. One of the best prospects the league had seen when he debuted, the shortstop quickly earned a name for himself. Alex Rodriguez became A-Rod, set on a surefire Hall of Fame-worthy path. Everyone had high expectations of the player that had signed the most lucrative contract in all of sports history, as did Rodriguez himself. But struggling under that immense pressure, the former athlete made a mistake.

In 2009, Rodriguez admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in the 2003 season, when he was with the Rangers. Instead of the soaring reputation that he had built for himself up until then, A-Rod’s standing in the MLB world plummeted. Then, the former Yankee got suspended for the entire 2014 season for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal. Fans found this offense unforgivable but more importantly, A-Rod realized he had some work to do on himself.

Now, almost a decade later, he’s urging others to learn from his mistakes.

Alex Rodriguez wants the next generation to learn from his blunders

What was once an undoubtedly Hall of Fame-worthy career has now seen A-Rod being rejected from Cooperstown two years in a row. Not receiving the required amount of 75% votes because of his PED past is a situation that would leave most dejected. But Rodriguez, apparently, is doing alright. He understands the scope of what he did and why things are going this way. In fact, he doesn’t want the younger generation to make the same mistakes he did.

In an interview with Harry Stebbings, the former Yankee said, “That mistake now sets me up for the back nine of my life and I’ve never been in a better place, happier, more grateful. And if it cost me the Hall of Fame, I have no one to blame but myself.”

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Rodriguez has never shied away from helping others wherever and whenever he can and this is clearly reflected in his words. “But if it can help the next generation avoid some of the mistakes that I’ve made, then ultimately there’s a lot to play for,” he continued.

A-Rod believes his failures are his own but not his successes

In his younger days, the ex-Yankee had a reputation for being rather hot-headed. But it seems like as with most of us, time has worked its magic on him. With age comes maturity and Rodriguez shows it clearly. He continued in the interview with Stebbings, talking about how he knows he has made failures. But that they rest only on his own shoulders. But he owes the successes in his life to the people that surrounded him.

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What do you think? Does Alex Rodriguez deserve a Hall of Fame induction?