Saturday, July 12, 2008

Despite Passing Mickey Mantle A-Rod Doesn't Compare

Alex Rodriguez has been in the news quite a lot lately. Some of it having to do with his on the field exploits. Now he's passed Mickey Mantle on the all-time homerun list. Does that mean he is better? Definitely not.

Unlike Mantle, Rodriguez has been implicated in the steroid scandals impacting the MLB. In addition, A-Rod has never won a World Series; Mickey won many. I argued when New York acquired the arrogant superstar from Texas that they would never win a title with Mr.Rodriguez. A-Rod has always been a distraction on team he's been on. In fact, both Seattle and Texas improved after he left them.

Like Barry Bonds, Rodriguez is all about himself. Teams that win require a team that sacrifices egos for the greater good. Just look at the Boston Celtics. The Yankees team that won world titles at the end of the last century played with great chemistry. Alex Rodriguez does not know the meaning of teamwork.

I've looked at numbers and have determined that Rodriguez's homerun numbers are the result of steroids. The proof? Many of the great true homerun hitters were consistant. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Mike Schimidt, showed great consistancy throughout their careers. All four had Standard deviations of 11 percent. The 3 most famous homerun hitters suspected of steroid, or using chemical enhancement , like Mark McGwire, all had deviations of 14% or greater.

And one final point. Mickey Mantle is a beloved figure. Alex Rodriguez, like Barry Bond, will be remembered as jerks.

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