After 16 seasons in the major leagues and six as a Yankee, Alex Rodriguez finally is about to play in his first World Series — and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said his third baseman has one focus and zero distractions.
“He’s a man on a mission,” Girardi said after the Yankees’ 5-2 victory over the Angels in last night’s Game 6 ALCS-clincher, “and it all started back when he came to Baltimore and hit that three-run home run on the first pitch.”
That night in Baltimore, Rodriguez, two months removed from surgery on his right hip, took the first pitch he saw in the 2009 season deep. Now, the 34-year-old superstar, lightning rod and talking point is entering his first World Series on the a hot streak that has lasted all postseason.
“A lot of great players have never had the honor to play in a World Series,” Rodriguez said. “So for me, I thank the good lord for putting me with the greatest organization and 24 great teammates and it feels really good.”
Just “good” would be an understatement when it comes to describing Rodriguez’s performance in the ALCS. He was easily the Yankees’ most formidable hitter, both dynamic and consistently dominant in the six-game victory over the Angels, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with three homers, six RBIs and eight walks.
How remarkable was Rodriguez? Consider that his final stretch of the ALCS, overlapping Games 5 and 6, Rodriguez reached base eight straight times on a double, a walk, a walk, a single, a walk, a walk, a single and a walk.
Rodriguez was terrific in the clincher last night in The Bronx, reaching base all five times with two singles and three walks, one of which came with the bases loaded.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m trusting my teammates and that’s important,” he said. “One through nine, I trust all my teammates. If they pitch to me, I feel like I’m going to do some damage. If not, I go to first and hopefully score more runs.”
Rodriguez, whose year began disastrously with steroid revelations and hip surgery, has at least one hit in each of the Yankees’ nine postseason games, a far cry from his previous postseasons, when he rarely starred and often fizzled completely.
In 2006, he went 1-for-14 in an ALDS loss to the Tigers. In 2005, he went 2-for-15 in an ALDS defeat to the Angels. In the 2004 ALCS collapse to the Red Sox, he went 2-for-17 in the final four games of the series, all Yankees losses.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a 5-year-old boy to play in the World Series,” Rodriguez said. “And it’s been a long time waiting. And in order to win the World Series, you have to get there and we’ve done that now.”