Alex Rodriguez, an admitted performance-enhancing drug user who fancies himself as a purple-lipped centaur, found the moment a bit overwhelming as he became emotional accepting the Babe Ruth Award Saturday night after being named the postseason MVP from the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
And how proud we are of his accomplishments, right?
No, I am not being sarcastic at all by making that statement. Seriously, good for him. There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving an award to a person that in turn only serves to continue to provide sustenance for his massive ego and narcissistic tendencies. Maybe A-Rod celebrated the honor by giving himself a big old smooch after the gala.
To be fair, and all snarkiness aside, A-Rod was a force to be reckoned with during the postseason, batting .365 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 15 games, leading the Bronx Bombers to a 4-2 throttling of the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
Known as a notorious choker in the postseason – heading into the 2009 playoffs, he was hitting a Mendoza Line-shattering .136 in Yankee pinstripes – the fact that he got this unnaturally-oversized monkey off his back was likely a welcome development considering how the 2009 campaign started off for the slugger. Usually, admitting that you took performance-enhancing drugs isn’t a great way to kick-off a successful, stress-free season. Just ask Mark McGwire how that is going for him.
This fact was not lost on A-Rod.
“Postseason MVP. Wow.”
He paused long enough to set up the punch line.
“What’s next, the good guy award?”
Ha ha ha. How very droll.
There was a long pause after A-Rod’s zinger as he soaked it all in.
After saying he’d keep his acceptance speech “very, very brief,” Rodriguez got caught up in the emotion of the moment, and the long pause that followed was interrupted only by a fan who yelled, “You’re the best, A-Rod!”
You could say that he got a bit verklempt as a result. That’s never good. Thankfully, the crowd was patient, without A-Rod being forced to go Linda Richman on them and say, “Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic: mythological representations are neither a myth nor are they representative. Discuss.”
Yeah, that would have been funny. For a 15-year-old reference.
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A-Rod News From The ‘You Can’t Make This Stuff Up’ Department… [Deadspin]
Roundup: A-Rod chokes up at awards ceremony [SI/AP]
Emotional A-Rod receives award [MLB.com]
