CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Fresh start. Fresh baseball life.
In 2016, Alex Rodriguez is determined to build off the new beginning he embarked upon last season.
“My plan this year is to continue to build on what I started last year,’’ Rodriguez said Tuesday after a lengthy workout at the University of Miami and hitting session at a nearby indoor batting cage.
“And I want to be adding value to the team both in the clubhouse and on the field. I’m happy and excited about our young players coming up. I’m excited about our bullpen.’’
Rodriguez — who opened up to The Post in a version of Alex Unplugged — proved last season he still can be an offensive force after a year away from baseball following his 2014 suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
He finished the 2015 season with 33 home runs (only two fewer than Yoenis Cespedes) and 86 RBIs, hitting .250 with an .842 OPS.
“I’m going to try to do exactly what I did last year: see ball, hit ball,’’ Rodriguez said. “Keep it really simple. Enjoy it, have fun.’’
And if he can do that again this season, if Rodriguez can hit 27 homers (six fewer than he hit last season), he will tie Babe Ruth — the ultimate Yankee — at 714 home runs. Barry Bonds is first at 762, then Hank Aaron at 755, Ruth at 714 and Rodriguez, who owns 687 home runs.
“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.’’
Rodriguez has rehabbed his career from the depths. He has come all the way back — from pariah to producer.
When his Yankees season was complete, A-Rod became a World Series wonder on FOX, offering in-depth analysis. TV A-Rod watched how hard people worked around the game and how they loved the game.
“That was very humbling,’’ Rodriguez said. “It gave me a different view of the game.’’
Viewers got to hear Rodriguez’s knowledge of baseball, and he suddenly was humanized and became more approachable. He noticed that a few days after the World Series when he was having dinner in the Meatpacking District and groups of baseball fans came up to him with questions and comments.
“They were all young professionals and they wanted to know everything about the World Series, they were quoting me and asking me questions,’’ Rodriguez said. “What I found is that experience in the World Series made me connect more with the fans.’’
Now as he readies to go to spring training at the age of 40 — he will turn 41 in July — Rodriguez is hopeful the changes he made in his mental and physical approach will continue to pay dividends. His workouts are heavy-duty stretching sessions, handled by two former Olympians — hurdler Isa Phillips and sprinter Malachi Davis.
After stretching and more stretching, and running drills that included sprints and climbing a mountain of steps — kind of like Rodriguez’s 2015 season — there was music on the portable speaker: Hozier’s “Take Me to Church’’ filled the air.
Rest helped the comeback, too.
“It goes back to a year and a half off to really get healthy,’’ Rodriguez said. “It was a blessing in disguise. As you saw today, a lot of what I do is pre-hab, it’s flexibility.’’
Not rehab, pre-hab.
“I do 90 minutes of it a day,’’ Rodriguez said. “I found a good thing last year and I’m going to continue.’’
Manager Joe Girardi helped the return to the game, too, he said.
“I think he is the gold standard of the modern-day manager,’’ Rodriguez said. “He has an Ivy League mind with a Navy SEAL attitude.’’
Girardi’s support helped in many ways, because A-Rod said there was a mental hurdle to overcome.
“There were doubts,’’ Rodriguez said. “I went over a year without playing baseball. At 39, not playing for a year, a year and a half, there were a lot of nights I was saying, ‘This is going to be tough.’ ”
The Yankees need everything to go right, including Rodriguez having another big year, if they want to make the postseason again. A-Rod helped get them back to the playoffs after a two-year absence, but he struggled down the stretch and the offense disappeared late. The Yankees were blanked, 3-0, by the Astros in the AL wild-card game.
But if they can get back to the postseason, they will have a bullpen no one wants to face — the Really Big Three bullpen of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.
“[Chapman] is a game-changer,” Rodriguez said of the dominating lefty closer acquired in a deal from the Reds. “People say we had a quiet offseason, I think it was a very good offseason. Sometimes it’s about quality, not quantity. I think we got younger, our bullpen was already our strength and now it becomes dominant and has an opportunity to be an historical bullpen. All three guys are above 6-7, two lefties and a righty, these guys strike out people, they don’t walk you. It’s going to be exciting.
“We have a really good clubhouse, and that’s something that you don’t take for granted,’’ Rodriguez said. “I thought it was a special group, I like our collection of young and veteran players.’’
Rodriguez played a pivotal role in the development of those young players, including shortstop Didi Gregorius.
“It was fun being available for my teammates,’’ Rodriguez said, refusing to use the word leader. “It was probably the most time I spent pre- and postgame in a really long time and it felt really good to be part of that.’’
The Yankees have added another talented young middle infielder this offseason, second baseman Starlin Castro, in a trade with the Cubs. Rodriguez already has talked to Castro.
“I think a change will be good for him and I also think he is going to flourish in our stadium, I think our stadium really plays to his strengths,’’ Rodriguez said.
In a few weeks, Rodriguez will not have to take a glove to spring training, and he is really happy about that. He is strictly a DH now.
Rodriguez offered a big smile and said, “I’m very happy to bring my lumber.’’
The Yankees need it and everything else this fresh-start A-Rod brings to the team.