What does the Future Hold for A-Rod?
The baseball world was sent into a furry this weekend, as Major League Baseball unofficially declared that they had given A-Rod a choice. Accept a suspension that would go throughout the 2014 season, or accept a lifetime ban from baseball. They say it’s in relation to the drug clinic that admitted supplying dozens of players with performance-enhancing drugs; but A-Rod says that it’s a conspiracy against him. All of this has every fan asking, what does the future hold for A-Rod?
The league’s decision will be made today, but it’s believed that the star player will be facing a 217 game suspension, which would last through the 2014 season. Other players involved with the same clinic are also facing suspensions, but the league is saying that A-Rod interfered with their investigation, leading to a harsher penalty. Even if he is suspended today, he will still be able to play throughout an appeal process, if that’s an avenue he wishes to explore. If that appeal is unsuccessful however, it could lead to his suspension creeping over into 2015.
But as reporters asked A-Rod what he thought about the potential suspension, he didn’t point to the drug clinic or interference of any kind. He instead stated that he believes the MLB just doesn’t want him to play.
“There is more than one party that benefits from me not stepping on the field. It is not my teammates, it is not the Yankees. People have been trying to get creative trying to cancel my contract,” he told reporters on Friday.
He was then asked if the league was included within that group trying to get him off the field and he replied, “What do you think?”
The suspension would mean that A-Rod would lose $34.5 million from his contract, but he would still be owed $61 million for years 2015-2017, and up to $30 million in bonuses. And those he would only be eligible for if it is just a suspension, and not a lifetime ban.
It’s clear though that for A-Rod, this is not about the money. This has become very, very personal.
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Tags: MLB