New York Yankees: Has Alex Rodriguez proved the critics wrong?

By Nick Ziegler | Apr 18, 2015

One of the biggest storylines coming into the MLB season was would New York Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez silence the critics?

After serving his long suspension last season, Rodriguez came into Spring Training needing to mend some fences with the Yankees’ front office. Before arriving at Spring Training, Rodriguez would meet with Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman in what has seemingly been a productive meeting towards him fixing some issues that he caused.

While fixing things with the front office was important, the main thing that the Yankees and their fans want is for Rodriguez to produce on the field.

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Appearing in his first Spring Training since 2012, Rodriguez would surprise a lot of people by exceeding almost all expectations. In the spring, Rodriguez batted .267 with three homeruns, four RBI, eight walks, and one double. Rodriguez played in 19 games, which probably surprised critics, but the batting average above .250 with some power probably really shocked them.

Rodriguez took a lot of momentum in the 2015 season, and so far he has thrived for the struggling Yankees this season. In 10 games this season, Rodriguez is batting .344 with four homeruns, and 11 RBI. It is a small sample size for Rodriguez but it is an outstanding start for the former MVP.

Besides Rodriguez, the Yankees’ offense has not hit well in the early part of the season. Jacoby Ellsbury is batting just .256 with one extra base-hit out of the lead-off spot. The .256 batting average for Ellsbury is really good compared to Mark Teixeira, Chase Headley, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann, who are all batting under .220.

He has played at first and third base so far this season, but a majority of his time is coming at designated hitter, and that is where he should start as much as possible. The Yankees’ offense has been lacking a star and a formidable bat in the middle of the order, but so far this season, Rodriguez has been able to be a middle of the order hitter, which is something that not many people thought he would be anymore.

Apr 17, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits a 2-run home run during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Rodriguez will likely not bat over .300 when it’s all said and done this season, but he has shown that he is still a very capable hitter. The Yankees’ offense is a shell of what it used to be a few years ago, but a productive Rodriguez will help the hitters around him similar to what Cano used to provide.

In the next few weeks, Rodriguez will be looking to pass the great Willie Mays on the all-time homeruns list, which will be interesting to see how covered it is by not only the Yankees, but the entire MLB.

So far 2015 has been great for Rodriguez, but it has become apparent for the Yankees’ offense that they really need him to be a middle of the order hitter throughout the season.

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