We were in overtime for Hispanics Across America, the suddenly famous group which has occupied Alex Rodriguez’s appeal hearing so dramatically that folks in buildings up Park Avenue can hear the ruckus. It was 8:20 p.m. Thursday, and the hyped “candlelight vigil” had turned into a bunch of tired folks sitting and wondering if the rumor could possibly be true.
Then A-Rod defied the odds by confirming the rumor. He actually returned to Major League Baseball headquarters to hang out with his supporters.
A stunning turn of events, to be sure.
“I talked to my mom,” Rodriguez said. “My mom’s like, ‘Get back there to thank those great people.’
“It’s obviously emotional. People are out there for eight, 10 hours a day. The least I can do is come shake their hands.”
It wouldn’t be enough drama that he’s trying to defeat the largest suspension (211 games) ever given to a professional athlete for illegal performance-enhancing drugs usage. No, week 1 of his hearing has turned into a circus outside MLB headquarters, with as many as 150 people chanting “Alex! Alex!” and prompting reasonable questions about who exactly these people are and whether A-Rod himself was paying them.
When it comes to producing drama, A-Rod rarely lets us down. Hence he wrapped up a long day that provided enough excitement in the actual hearing — A-Rod’s attorney Joseph Tacopina began his cross-examination of MLB’s star witness Tony Bosch, and will continue tomorrow — with the personal appearance.
For about 25 minutes, A-Rod posed for photos and signed autographs with these folks, and he spoke to them in Spanish.
Fernando Mateo, the president of HAA, translated for us: “I’m sorry if I haven’t acknowledged you, but I want you to know that I truly care, and I truly appreciate the fact that you’re here for me. You don’t know me, but my mother, my children, my family, my friends, we all appreciate the fact that although they’re not here, they know that you’re here. My community. My people. I’m Dominican, and I love you all.”
A-Rod told The Post and ESPN New York: “Obviously, I feel so grateful to the people, the whole community. It’s obviously tough times, but I’m definitely grateful.”
Look, he’s A-Rod. He’s a sitting duck for mockery. I’ve ripped HAA this week because I question what exactly it’s supporting and am positive Mateo either doesn’t grasp or refuses to acknowledge the basic tenets of collective bargaining. The accusations of conspiracy between the Yankees and MLB have been expressed in mean-spirited ways, and A-Rod has repeatedly blessed this organization.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez is entitled to appeal this suspension, and he’s allowed to act as a goofball — and in turn he has to accept grief for the goofiness. And if he is paying these folks to shout his name and raise a ruckus? Well, that’s unusual, yet I’d admire A-Rod’s chutzpah. It’s not as if he’d be committing a crime.
(For the record, I asked Rodriguez if he was paying the supporters. He said no.)
It was a critical day in the hearing room on the 29th floor. Tacopina needs to rough up Bosch, after MLB took over two days to directly question Bosch and lay out its case against A-Rod. We know Bosch has credibility issues, based on his past actions and statements and his agreement with MLB, and Tacopina vowed to expose those.
Likewise, outside the actual procedure, we struggled to comprehend what was real and what was just a production. Could people really get this worked up over a ballplayer who is physically deteriorating, has confessed to illegal PED usage once before and won’t deny doing it in this most recent episode?
The hearing will go on hiatus after Friday, with the resumption most likely to occur around Oct. 14 back here at MLB headquarters. HAA will probably show up, too, its exact purpose still a mystery.
If we’re not sure how real it is, though, we’ll settle for really entertaining. A-Rod never lets us down on that criteria. He delivered yet again on Thursday night.