They say that records are made to be broken, and that, of course, is so. As a boy, I never thought anyone would exceed Ty Cobb's total hits, and, as we know, Pete Rose achieved that amazing feat. Babe Ruth's 714 home runs were eclipsed by Hank Aaron, and his single-season record of 60 has been beaten by a number of players, each of whose accomplishments (save Roger Maris, who was also asterisked at the time he hit 61, but unfairly ) should be asterisked.
I had never thought anyone would break Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games record until Cal Ripken came along. Last night, breaking a 1-25 drought, the super-achieving (yet heavily asterisked) Alex Rodriguez broke the lifetime grand slam record of Lou Gehrig.
Henry Louis Gehrig, the first Yankee Captain, was a superstar of a different mold than almost anyone we see today. Lou came to the Yankees off the Columbia University campus, and, from the time he filled in at first base for Everett Scott until his foreshortened retirement, he never missed a game.
Apart from the fact that his achievements were never tainted, Gehrig's durability presents a stark irony when contrasted with the fragile superstars of today. For someone to play as long and continuously as Gehrig did and amass a .340 lifetime batting average is almost beyond comprehension. Even the astonishing achievements of the current Yankee captain, Derek Jeter (a throwback if ever I saw one), are surpassed by Gehrig, whose power stats put him in a different category--a slugger with an extremely high lifetime batting average. The only person to whom the great Gehrig took a side seat in that department was Babe Ruth, but Ruth was sui generis.
Although it is fashionable, and not unfair, to take a dim view of A-Rod's activities, I am not one of those who wants to "pile on." What seems particularly unfair to me as a lawyer, is how Rodriguez's test results were illegally and selectively leaked, a fact that seems to bother very few people. Hundreds of baseball players voluntarily took the drug test under promises of anonymity. We will never know how many bloated records were unfairly inflated and have gone undetected. Yes, Rodriguez has been a disappointment both on and (mostly) off the field. A man of almost unfathomable baseball talent he, like fellow superstars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez saw fit to use--and deny having used--performance enhancing drugs. The members of this unholy quartet are among the most talented players since Willie, Mickey and the Duke were patrolling New York's Centerfields in the glory days of the 1950's. Each of them would have been first-ballot Hall of Famers, save, possibly Ramirez, who likely would have gotten in eventually. Since fessing up after being caught in a lie, A-Rod has been a more like a lightning rod when it comes to his nefarious PED-related activities. On top of all this, his has labored under a difficult rehab following hip surgery.
Whatever his transgressions, Rodriguez is aging and injured, and has been struggling gamely under a cloud, albeit of his own making. Somehow, however, he still shows an ability to rise to certain occasions like few I have ever seen. Some years ago, on the last day of the season, needing two home runs and seven RBI's to make 30 and 100, respectively, he did just that. On his first time up against the Red Sox's Ryan Dempster a few weeks ago, he was intentionally beaned in protest over either (a) his playing while appealing a 211 game suspension, (b) his supposedly having ratted on, among others, teammate Francisco Cervelli, or (c) simply wearing the uniform. Rodriguez took his base that night without comment, and came back the next at bat to hit a monstrous home run. Last night, September 20, 2013, saw A-Rod step to the plate, with his batting average having dropped by 50 points since a hamstring pull. Reduced to being a designated hitter, his swings, such as they were, seemed to be all upper body. In this, his first time up with the bases loaded since his much-publicized return, Rodriguez broke the last of Lou Gehrig's records.
But here's the thing. Alex Rodriguez is no Lou Gehrig. Although I was born twenty-two days after Lou Gehrig died, and two years after his "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech, awareness of his greatness feels implanted in my DNA. Watching "Pride of the Yankees" still brings tears to my eyes. Because of the devastating disease that now bears his name, millions of people know the name of Lou Gehrig who couldn't even read a box store. But those who do, remember him as a handsome, humble man, with the physique of a Greek god; a man whose physical attributes seemed to mock the very idea of fallibility. His name will always be synonymous with class and all the things baseball fans consider great. As for A-Rod, any movie of his life will doubtless be transgressive in nature. Most will remember the shame that he brought upon both himself and the game he so clearly loves. More's the pity.
We will never know how great Alex Rodriguez, or any of the others, would have been without the PED's, but there is little doubt that his achievements would have still been daunting. Now, he is destined to join "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and a handful of his steroid-era compatriots who otherwise clearly belonged in the Hall of Fame, forever standing in the hall. I still feel more sorrow than anger when this tarnished All-Star steps to the plate amidst a mixed chorus of (mostly) boos and (some) cheers. When he hit that home run last night, I felt sorrow for Lou's memory and sorrow that Alex's marvelous record-breaking achievement(s) can never be taken at face value. Whether he is more to be pitied than censured, I leave to history. As for me, there is no joy in my personal Mudville.
I had never thought anyone would break Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games record until Cal Ripken came along. Last night, breaking a 1-25 drought, the super-achieving (yet heavily asterisked) Alex Rodriguez broke the lifetime grand slam record of Lou Gehrig.
Henry Louis Gehrig, the first Yankee Captain, was a superstar of a different mold than almost anyone we see today. Lou came to the Yankees off the Columbia University campus, and, from the time he filled in at first base for Everett Scott until his foreshortened retirement, he never missed a game.
Apart from the fact that his achievements were never tainted, Gehrig's durability presents a stark irony when contrasted with the fragile superstars of today. For someone to play as long and continuously as Gehrig did and amass a .340 lifetime batting average is almost beyond comprehension. Even the astonishing achievements of the current Yankee captain, Derek Jeter (a throwback if ever I saw one), are surpassed by Gehrig, whose power stats put him in a different category--a slugger with an extremely high lifetime batting average. The only person to whom the great Gehrig took a side seat in that department was Babe Ruth, but Ruth was sui generis.
Although it is fashionable, and not unfair, to take a dim view of A-Rod's activities, I am not one of those who wants to "pile on." What seems particularly unfair to me as a lawyer, is how Rodriguez's test results were illegally and selectively leaked, a fact that seems to bother very few people. Hundreds of baseball players voluntarily took the drug test under promises of anonymity. We will never know how many bloated records were unfairly inflated and have gone undetected. Yes, Rodriguez has been a disappointment both on and (mostly) off the field. A man of almost unfathomable baseball talent he, like fellow superstars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez saw fit to use--and deny having used--performance enhancing drugs. The members of this unholy quartet are among the most talented players since Willie, Mickey and the Duke were patrolling New York's Centerfields in the glory days of the 1950's. Each of them would have been first-ballot Hall of Famers, save, possibly Ramirez, who likely would have gotten in eventually. Since fessing up after being caught in a lie, A-Rod has been a more like a lightning rod when it comes to his nefarious PED-related activities. On top of all this, his has labored under a difficult rehab following hip surgery.
Whatever his transgressions, Rodriguez is aging and injured, and has been struggling gamely under a cloud, albeit of his own making. Somehow, however, he still shows an ability to rise to certain occasions like few I have ever seen. Some years ago, on the last day of the season, needing two home runs and seven RBI's to make 30 and 100, respectively, he did just that. On his first time up against the Red Sox's Ryan Dempster a few weeks ago, he was intentionally beaned in protest over either (a) his playing while appealing a 211 game suspension, (b) his supposedly having ratted on, among others, teammate Francisco Cervelli, or (c) simply wearing the uniform. Rodriguez took his base that night without comment, and came back the next at bat to hit a monstrous home run. Last night, September 20, 2013, saw A-Rod step to the plate, with his batting average having dropped by 50 points since a hamstring pull. Reduced to being a designated hitter, his swings, such as they were, seemed to be all upper body. In this, his first time up with the bases loaded since his much-publicized return, Rodriguez broke the last of Lou Gehrig's records.
But here's the thing. Alex Rodriguez is no Lou Gehrig. Although I was born twenty-two days after Lou Gehrig died, and two years after his "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech, awareness of his greatness feels implanted in my DNA. Watching "Pride of the Yankees" still brings tears to my eyes. Because of the devastating disease that now bears his name, millions of people know the name of Lou Gehrig who couldn't even read a box store. But those who do, remember him as a handsome, humble man, with the physique of a Greek god; a man whose physical attributes seemed to mock the very idea of fallibility. His name will always be synonymous with class and all the things baseball fans consider great. As for A-Rod, any movie of his life will doubtless be transgressive in nature. Most will remember the shame that he brought upon both himself and the game he so clearly loves. More's the pity.
We will never know how great Alex Rodriguez, or any of the others, would have been without the PED's, but there is little doubt that his achievements would have still been daunting. Now, he is destined to join "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and a handful of his steroid-era compatriots who otherwise clearly belonged in the Hall of Fame, forever standing in the hall. I still feel more sorrow than anger when this tarnished All-Star steps to the plate amidst a mixed chorus of (mostly) boos and (some) cheers. When he hit that home run last night, I felt sorrow for Lou's memory and sorrow that Alex's marvelous record-breaking achievement(s) can never be taken at face value. Whether he is more to be pitied than censured, I leave to history. As for me, there is no joy in my personal Mudville.
