A-Rod Tipping off Pitches for Self Gain?

The latest accusations directed towards New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez are even more damning than the initial allegation and eventual admission of steroid use.

According to the text of a soon-to-release book written by sports writer Selena Roberts, “A-Rod’s” steroid use may date back as far as his high school playing time, and extends beyond his Texas Rangers playing days. If proven correct, any remaining credibility Rodriguez had when he admitted to be using the performance-enhancing drugs during his Rangers days to “live up to the expectations” of his lofty contract would be washed away. But this is not the biggest and most damaging accusation yet.

Also in the book, Rodriguez was accused of tipping his pitchers’ pitches in an one-sided game to OPPOSITION PLAYERS in hope to have them return the favour by tipping off their own pitchers’ pitches. This “trade,” obviously, does not affect a team’s win-loss record, but it would definitely benefit Rodriguez’s stats.

There are several reasons why this accusation is so damning:

1) If Rodriguez is tipping opposition batters about his own pitchers’ pitches, he is hurting the livelihood of his own team mates. What if a relief pitcher is barely holding on to his big league job, and A-Rod tips his pitches to an opposition batter so he hits a 3-run homerun against A-Rod’s team mate in a meaningless game? That pitcher may be sent to the minors, and may never be called back again. He is hurting his team mate.

2) What can A-Rod get out of such “trades?” Not a win for his team, that’s for sure. A-Rod may have been accused of never being able to step up to the plate when things matter the most. But if all he cares is his own stats, and he cares about it to a point that he would hurt his team mates to do so, who would respect him in the locker room?

3) A-Rod has long been criticized for being able to hit so well when nothing is on the line. If this accusation is true, then there is a very obvious reason to explain why – not because he does not clamp up when the game’s pressure may get to him, but because he can buy his way to juicy information that would allow him to hit big when nothing is on the line. This puts further damages to his already tainted stats.

Few professionals fall from grace as far and as fast as A-Rod does… but if these accusations are true, then who can he blame but himself?

Further reading:

A-Rod’s Steroids Use Started in School (reported by the Vancouver Province):

Ex-teammate Saddened by Pitch-tipping Allegations (reported by SI.com)