A-Rod’s Press Conference
One year and one week removed from Arod’s Feb 18th spring training press conference last year, in which he spoke about his steroid use, Alex Rodriguez held his spring training kick-off press conference. This year’s press conference was a lot different from last year’s. The press conference didn’t receive huge publicity, no prepared statements, just a new Arod and a few dozen reporters. As expected, the questions that Arod answered yesterday were mostly about how far he’s come since the steroid scandal. The first question that Arod faced was about how different this year’s press conference was from the one a year ago and how he has changed as a person. “Last year was obviously a very embarrassing day… I’ve done a lot of growing up and realized a lot of things” Alex responded. The rest of the questions that focused on how he’s changed since the steroid admission had very similar responses. I know that for me, as well as many other Yankees fans, the whole steroid angle has been beaten to death so I will focus on other subjects that Arod touched upon in his press conference.
One of the things that has haunted Rodriguez through his professional career has been his lack of ownership of a World Series ring. When prompted to talk about winning the 2009 World Series it was clear that Alex was relieved to talk about a baseball-related subject and also finally got to speak about winning a World Series. ”It was magical, I’ve never experienced anything, I mean besides the birth of my two daughters, the feeling of winning a world championship in New York, in the new stadium is something I’ll never forget” Alex said. While the criticism has ceased about Rodriguez not being a champion, it is also clear that he isn’t satisfied with winning just one World Series. “Now that you taste it you just want to keep doing it again… it was a huge gorilla that came off my back” Alex said. That gorilla may have been huge, but Alex recognizes that if the team falls short of winning a World Series he will still receive criticism from the media. There was one quote from the press conference that really stood out. Alex said of the ’09 season “I’ve never had more fun in my life than I had last year”. Some writers will say that Arod’s responses were coached and scripted, however, I honestly believe that Arod has changed. Watching the ’09 season, I noticed that Arod was much more joyous on the field. He truly looked like he was having fun, from his interaction with team mates, to post game press conferences, and playoff celebrations it looked like Arod enjoyed being on a baseball field for the first time in a long time.
Alex also addressed some questions about his teammates. Alex said the he was in contact with Johnny Damon over the offseason as he and Johnny were good friends. “I was just trying to share some of my experiences with him (going through a similar situation with agent Scott Boras in the ’07-’08 offseason)… I was just crossing my fingers, hoping he would come back” he said of Johnny. Another question that Arod was asked was about his thoughts on Derek Jeter’s contract situation. Arod and Derek had a small falling out a few season ago that was very overhyped. The two are still friends and definitely appreciate being on the Yankees together. While there is a media flurry surrounding Jeter’s contract situation, there is almost nobody in the universe that has any doubt about him playing for the New York Yankees last year. ESPN writer Jayson Stark even admitted that the concern surrounding Jeter’s contract is much ado about nothing. Alex seems to share a similar perspective “Derek Jeter was born to be a Yankee and he was born to wear pinstripes. He’s our captain and we need him here and I envision he’ll finish his career here… I can’t envision him wearing any other uniform”.
Alex seemed much more calm and at peace during this press conference than he had in previous ones. Maybe it was that the 2009 steroid allegations are behind him, or maybe it was that he had finally proved haters wrong and not only won a World Series, but performed at a high level throughout the playoffs. Or maybe, just maybe it was that he was finally happy to get back to baseball. With a much more confident and calm Alex Rodriguez, able to focus solely on baseball, holding down the cleanup spot in the Yankees lineup, the Yankees are prepared to defend their 2009 title.
The full audio of the Arod press conference can be found the LoHud Yankees Blog.
What are your thoughts on Arods press conference yesterday? Will he have a monster year in 2010 with a “gorilla” off his back?
Photos courtesy of Zimbio.com
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