MLB

Yankees’ A-Rod signed anti-drugs pledge in front of 500 students in 2009

BALTIMORE — He entered through a side door here at Milford Mill Academy, securing the element of surprise. He passed on the breakfast table set up backstage.

Then, with about 500 student-athletes seated in this spacious auditorium on Sept. 1, 2009, he was introduced by Mike Gimbel:

“Now we’ve got time for our special guest. Alex Rodriguez is here.”

“Everyone’s like, ‘Get out of here, what? No way!’ ” Gimbel, a drug counselor and educator, recalled to The Post on Friday. “They went crazy. They went absolutely crazy. They were so excited.”

And at the conclusion of his presentation, A-Rod — less than a year removed from his confession of illegal performance-enhancing drug usage — signed his name on a large cardboard document, a prop designed for display.

A “Playing Safe, Fair and Sober Pledge.”

One that reads, in part, “I pledge to become the best that I can be without using any banned performance-enhancing substance, including anabolic steroids.”

To put it kindly, doubts exist the Yankees’ beleaguered third baseman has honored that pledge.

“It’s embarrassing,” Gimbel said. “It’s embarrassing not only for us, and for him, but to the whole concept of what we’re about.”

Now, to be fair, A-Rod hasn’t been convicted of anything. Major League Baseball is passionately investigating the connection of Rodriguez and many other players to Biogenesis, a now-shuttered anti-aging clinic in South Florida. There’s a strong possibility that, at some point in the next few weeks, MLB will announce suspensions — at which point the accused can (and very likely will) appeal the penalties in front of an independent arbitrator. You’d be a fool to bet against A-Rod or anyone else prevailing in an appeal.

Gimbel understands and respects the concept of due process. It’s just that a moment like this, when he finds himself in possession of a potentially breached contract, makes his job harder.

More central to the Yankees, it calls into question yet again A-Rod’s judgment: Is it possible he was talking to youngsters about the evils of illegal PED usage even as he was acquiring them from Biogenesis founder (and current MLB star witness) Anthony Bosch? A-Rod’s public relations representative declined comment.

Like nearly everything in baseball’s illegal PED universe, this episode can be traced back to the infamous Congressional hearings of 2005. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat representing Maryland’s seventh district, sat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that welcomed ballplayers Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa as well as Commissioner Bud Selig, future Mets general manager Sandy Alderson and Players Association officials. Later that year, inspired by the hearings, Cummings helped enact the plan for a campaign called Powered By Me!

Powered By Me! teaches youngsters in the Baltimore area about the perils of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing supplements. When A-Rod admitted in February 2009 to his earlier usage, Cummings — who also sat in the 2008 follow-up hearings featuring Roger Clemens and his former trainer and accuser Brian McNamee — publicly invited A-Rod to join his endeavor.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez (Anthony J. Causi)

SIGNED AND SEALED: Alex Rodriguez signed this document in 2009, pledging not to use performance-enhancing drugs in front of 500 student-athletes assembled in Baltimore. “It makes you mad,” says Mike Gimbel, a drug counselor and educator who came up with the idea of the pledge. (Anthony J. Causi; Ken Davidoff)

Rodriguez eventually accepted, scheduling his appearance during a Yankees series here with the Orioles. He had spoken to other groups already, thanks to his cooperation with the Taylor Hooton Foundation and its founder Don Hooton. None had approached the size of this gathering, though. Gimbel, a former drug addict who has been sober for 40 years, is the director of Powered By Me! and worked to coordinate A-Rod’s visit — with the understanding the media wouldn’t be tipped off beforehand.

“He spoke for a long time, for about a half-hour,” Gimbel said. “He was so humble. I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I can tell when someone is [BS’ing]. He was really sincere. I was amazed. He was talking, it was almost like a rebirth kind of a speech: ‘I saw the light.’ But he got deeper. It felt deeper. It wasn’t surfacey, like someone gave him these points to say.

“He talked about being humble and learning a lesson and maybe this is meant to be: ‘They taught me this, I understand better and I’m humbled and grateful.’ It was very emotional. He didn’t shy away from what he did. He admitted what he did. He admitted mistakes. It was very, very powerful.”

He took questions from the audience. Many female students asked A-Rod to be their prom date, Gimbel recalled with a laugh, while other queries concerned his training regimen.

Gimbel conceived the idea of the written pledge.

“It’s the heart of the program,” he said. “All of the kids do it. I always thought it was a cool thing to do, to get the athlete to do it after they speak. It looks good. If they’ll do it, the kids will do it.”

He owns one large pledge sheet for all of the pro sports figures who participated. Joining A-Rod’s autograph are those of legendary Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, Orioles Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Just a few days ago, Gimbel was cleaning out his office in nearby Towson when he came upon the pledge sheet. He examined it wistfully, looked at A-Rod’s relatively legible signature and contemplated the most recent news.

“Isn’t that funny? The best signature is A-Rod’s,” he said. “It makes you [ticked] off. It makes you mad.”

It might still hold up, if A-Rod’s attorneys are skilled enough to fend off MLB. Rodriguez vows, in statements issued since the Biogenesis details emerged, he has lived up to that pledge, and that hasn’t been disproved.

Nevertheless, it’s typical of A-Rod’s penchant for uber-drama that what seemed like a great idea at the time now stands out as a potential source of humiliation for both him and his employer.

kdavidoff@nypost.com