“Overwhelming’’ is the Word A-Rod Uses About Possibly Matching Babe Ruth’s 714 Homers
Alex Rodriguez enjoyed a productive 2015 season largely free of controversy, at least once he settled his dispute with the Yankees over home-run bonuses. The slugger returned from the suspension that cost him his entire 2014 season to be one of his team’s best hitters, smashing 33 home runs with an .842 OPS and collecting his 3,000th hit in the process.
Now A-Rod enters 2016 with 687 Major League homers on his ledger and two seasons left on his contract with the the Yankees. And in an excellent, broad-ranging interview with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, the 14-time All-Star weighed in on the very real possibility that he will catch Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list this year or next:
“Overwhelming’’ is the word Rodriguez used to describe the possibility of matching the Bambino. “When you start playing baseball at 9 years old, you never think about tying anybody, let alone a guy like Babe Ruth,” he said.
To make catching Ruth even possible after his suspension, he had to change — and rediscover the child-like love he once had for the game.
“It was reconnecting with the game, reconnecting with the clubhouse,’’ Rodriguez told me. “I love the clubhouse. What I found is how much fun the game is and last year I had a lot of fun.”
Kernan’s whole interview with A-Rod is well worth reading. Rodriguez discusses his relationship with manager Joe Girardi, his offseason training regimen, and his surprisingly popular turn as a studio analyst for World Series coverage on FOX.
As for his chances of catching Ruth? They seemed far-fetched at best after the 2013 season, with Rodriguez coming off three straight seasons with fewer than 20 home runs and staring at both a suspension and the seemingly real possibility the Yanks would find some way out from the final three seasons of his contract.
Now, the Yankees clearly need Rodriguez. GM Brian Cashman has somewhat quietly built a nice, young core of players to complement the team’s wealth of wealthy, aging superstars. But few players in the Yanks’ plans for 2016 appear as likely as A-Rod to match A-Rod’s strong 2015 contributions, the Yankees — as always — intend to compete in the AL East, and you need to score runs to win ballgames.
With 687 home runs, Rodriguez would need 27 to match Ruth by the end of 2016. He plays his home games at cozy Yankee Stadium and, again, he hit 33 last season, so it’s a real possibility. And even if he falls short, he’s still under contract with the Yankees through the end of the 2017 campaign. A-Rod will turn 41 in July, so tying or surpassing Barry Bonds’ record of 762 homers is probably out at this point.
But Babe Ruth, you may know, is kind of a big deal. And A-Rod’s totally going to end up with more home runs than Babe Ruth. You might point out, accurately, that Rodriguez’s gaudy home-run totals are in part the product of the era and the parks in which he played, but the same is true for Ruth.