Game Changer

David Schoenfield notes five ways Alex Rodriguez changed the game of baseball. The first is probably the most important:

When Rodriguez was 18, the Mariners called him up from the minors in 1994. He’d play 17 games, hit .204, and get sent back before the strike hit that season. Those 17 days would cost the Mariners. Rodriguez became eligible for free agency after the 2000 season, going a few days over the allotted six years of service time. Because they failed to properly monitor his big league time, the Mariners received just five full seasons from Rodriguez, plus parts of 1994 and 1995, when he hit .224 over 208 plate appearances.

So when you see the Cubs manipulating Kris Bryant’s service time — for which they’ll end up getting nearly seven full seasons from him — you’re seeing a lesson learned from Rodriguez and the Mariners.

Rodriguez was also the end product of a change that started with Cal Ripken, that shortstops could be big, power hitters and still play an important defensive position well. I doubt you will ever hear, “He’s too big to play shortstop,” again.

Slightly off topic, I’m surprised to see Joe Girardi coming under a great deal of criticism for not playing Rodriguez much this week, and especially for not allowing him to play third base in his final game. They note that Derek Jeter played a whole year at shortstop, and played badly, so Girardi is being inconsistent in his farewell tour treatment of the two.

Really? Derek Jeter is a Yankees icon, as big as any of the Hall of Famers who came before him. In his long career, he could be trusted to play hard every day, and never embarrass himself or the team. Jeter spent 20 years as the face of the Yankees, and carried that weight as well as anyone who had it before. He earned a farewell tour.

Two years ago, the Yankees were doing everything they could to get rid of Rodriguez. I will give him credit for appearing to turn his life around and make amends to people he hurt. That doesn’t mean he gets the gold watch. My take is that A-Rod is lucky the Yankees gave him a last game and a chance to have a nice farewell. I would have just released him and eaten his contract.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2bmvWL2