MLB

Yankees star Rodriguez prefers playing here over Miami

MIAMI — Alex Rodriguez told stories about growing up not far from the site of the new Marlins Park and taking buses to see the Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes at the old Orange Bowl.

But that doesn’t mean the Yankees third baseman is interested in ever playing in South Florida.

“I love this place,” Rodriguez said of whether he would have been enticed to play in his hometown if the stadium had been built when he was a free agent. “It’s home for me. I really, really love living here. I love playing in New York.”

And while he doesn’t want to leave The Bronx, Rodriguez didn’t have much fun last season, when injuries limited him to 99 games, 16 homers and 62 RBIs.

“I’ll tell you, last year was such a frustrating year,” Rodriguez said before going 1-for-2 in a 10-8 win over the Marlins yesterday. “Probably the most frustrating year of my career, without a doubt.”

Rodriguez underwent right knee surgery in July and then sprained his left thumb — an injury that bothered him the rest of the season.

“Until I got hurt I was going really well and the team was doing well and I was a good contributor to the team,” Rodriguez said. “And then when I got hurt and I had surgery, it all went downhill. I just never recovered from that.”

The problems continued into the postseason and ended in an ALDS loss to Detroit.

“The playoffs almost seem like a blur and I’m just glad that part of it is over,” Rodriguez said. “I wasn’t myself and I’m definitely looking forward to a blank slate and having a great year for the team.”

So far, he’s satisfied with how his spring has gone, but he doesn’t know what that will lead to during the regular season.

“Numbers are never what you focus on,” Rodriguez said. “At this point in my career, I’m more concerned with how my body’s reacting. Overall, I feel very good and how I’m feeling. I’m ready to roll … knock on wood.”

Of course, Rodriguez felt good a year ago, too.

“I feel better about what I’m doing and my routine,” Rodriguez said. “I have a lot more certainty and more of a clear goal in my workouts.”

And even though he is hesitant to throw out any proclamations about how much he wants to play, he would like to have more production than he had a year ago.

“The number’s not 99, that’s for sure,” Rodriguez said when asked how many games he expects to play in. “I want to get into playing a lot of games and being productive and a force in the middle of the lineup. It’s April 1. Predicting a big number here’s not doing anyone any good. I’m focused on staying healthy.”

The pursuit of that continued yesterday.

“Today is a special day,” said Rodriguez, who played high school baseball at nearby Westminster Christian. “To grow up in these streets, in these square blocks and taking three or four buses to get to University of Miami football games, trying to sneak into the Orange Bowl to watch Dan Marino or Gino Torretta back in the day. I never imagined as a child such a beautiful stadium would be in the middle of Miami.”