Alex Rodriguez - Greatest Month Ever?

[bedir than average]

A-Rod has no doubt had the greatest April of all time, but the combination of power and hitting for average that he's displayed this month while playing at a premier defensive position has me wondering if this is the greatest month-long display we have ever seen?

385/444/1013 with 1 SB and a K:BB of 2.5 which is high, but considering the power and average displayed I think we can all accept that.

One of the arguments against this being the greatest month by any player ever is the poor performance of the New York Yankees. There is likely a nother superior month like this in history where the player has performed on a team that has also been superior.

I'm wondering if that context matters. Can we really consider a player a failure for the failings of his teammates? Without ARod the Yankees would be lucky to have six wins, instead of their 8-11. Yet I have no doubt that if the Yankees were 13-8 ARod would already be handed the MVP award.

I have never seen anything like this before, and I likely won't again. Maybe Sammy Sosa back in 1998, or Bonds in 2001.

Alex Rodriguez is a first ballot Hall of Famer who is grossly misunderstood by the fans. The Yankees will be lucky if they still have him next year.

[Blader]

"Grossly misunderstood"...?
A high batting average doesn't make him a likeable teammate.
The only thing bigger than his stats is his ego....keep your shirt on and find humility and then all fans will appreciate you.

[bedir than average]

From personal experience it isn't a large ego, but a desire to be liked by every one. He would search for precisely the right words, often times his postgame interviews in Seattle would read like political speeches.

That's the misunderstanding of which I speak.

[Drury77]

The one thing I'll say for A-Rod this year, and his current streak, is that for the first time in a few years, he LOOKS like he is having FUN AGAIN!!

For him, maybe he was pushing himself so hard to fit in, that he forgot to have fun with the game he loves.

[Blader]

Again. HE POSED with his shirt off on the only rock in Sheeps Meadow...he never admits to wrongdoing....he laughed tonight when he caught the liner thought it was two out and didn't throw to first to double the runner....not on my team ...no thanks..."desire to be liked" would include HUMILITY.

[Goose]

Well I'd take him on my team any day. And more often than not, my team with guys like him is gonna beat your team without those guys.

Really, I hope and pray that he opts out of his contract at the end of the year. As a Mariners fan, I feel sorry for A-Rod and I hope he has a great year, then tells New York to shove it. They don't deserve him. It makes me sick to listen to those New York fans that have been booing him all this time, act like they are his biggest fans all of a sudden.

[unreal654]

A-Rod has impressed me with his clutch hitting this season. His stats so far are mind boggling from a fantasy perspective.

[all4phillysportsfan]

I agree with Goose. I hope he opts out of his contract and tells New York how it is. He deserves to play in a place where they won't boo him every time he gets out.

[Blader]

Originally Posted by all4phillysportsfan

I agree with Goose. I hope he opts out of his contract and tells New York how it is. He deserves to play in a place where they won't boo him every time he gets out.

Like Mike Schmidt huh?

I'm a Giants fan and I can't stand Strahans Flexing ...AROD isn't a showoff...this guy gets Booed for a reason....why does he open his mouth in SportsIllustrated ...too much evidence of a "me" player having a great Contract year.

[all4phillysportsfan]

That's why I am worried about Rowand. It seems alot of players do well in their contract years don't they? Mike Schmidt was my idol as a young child because of the way he played, and you're right. Some of the fans did not treat him well here.

[bedir than average]

Originally Posted by Blader

Like Mike Schmidt huh?

I'm a Giants fan and I can't stand Strahans Flexing ...AROD isn't a showoff...this guy gets Booed for a reason....why does he open his mouth in SportsIllustrated ...too much evidence of a "me" player having a great Contract year.

Yeah, its not as if Alex hasn't been great before...

Alex Rodriguez Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

On four occaissions he finished better in the MVP race than in his only other contract year. Like in 1996 with his 10 RC/27.

He's been consistently amazing. I don't think this is about a contract year.

[BMW]

Alex Rodriguez is the most versatile player this game has seen in a long time. He is the best all-around player since Ken Griffey Jr. It's kind of amazing that two of the most valuable 5 tool players in the history of the game shared the same field for a couple of years. A Rod will be wildly loved when he retires because he has been a stand up guy, acquiring numbers the right way. The only mistake he has made was accepting a big paycheck that was offered to him.

[jtur88]

The reason it was the greatest April of "all time" is because for the first 75 years or so of the modern era, there were only about 12 games in April, before MLB/TV said "we can make money in the snow". And yes, it was a grat April, but let's see. what was the best month during Hornsby's .426 season, or Hack Wilson's 190-RBI season? Wilson averaged 35 RBIs per month, and probably had a 40 in there somewhere.
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ARod needs 4 homers toeay and tomorrow to match Rudy York's 18 homers in August, '37.

[Grandstander]

Addressing the question posed, the answer is no, this was not the greatest month ever. Arod recorded a 1.311 OPS for this past month. From '01 through '04, Barry Bonds posted a higher OPS in 13 different months. In May of 2001 he batted .369-.542-.1.036.....1.583 OPS while hitting 17 homeruns, his highest one month homer total. His best April is also his higest OPS month ever, that was in 2004 when he put up a 1.828 mark. Bonds also had a 16 homerun month in September of 2001, recording an OPS of 1.685.

I do not know that any of the above represent records, but it does place Arod's month out of the running for best ever.

[bigheadache]

ARod was a bad guy for taking all that money and going to Texas. He became a worse villian by forcintg the Rangers to trade him to the hated Yankees. In New Yrok, fans boo him from the moment he gets there. Despite winning MVP awards and gold gloves in New York they hate him becasue he hasn't won a World Series. His haters are quck to point out he hasn't produced in the playoffs. Well that can be said for most of the other 24 players on the Yankees during that period.

This year, he gets off to a great start while his team does not. I'm not sure what bothers Yankee fans more, the teams bad start or they can't blame it on ARod. We hear all the speculation that he may walk after this year. Who can blame him. He plays in a town where he is hated and under appreciated. It seems to me, the longer ARod stays in New York, the more likeable he becomes.