Few players have ever boasted a more Hall of Fame–worthy resume than Alex Rodriguez.
The former Yankees superstar retired with the fifth-most home runs (696) and fourth-most RBIs (2,086) in MLB history — along with 3,115 hits, three MVP awards and a World Series championship in 2009.
But Rodriguez’s admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs — and the record suspension that followed as part of the Biogenesis scandal — has left him stuck in Hall of Fame purgatory.
He has never received more than 37.1 percent of the 75 percent vote required for induction.
In a new interview with The Athletic, the 14-time All-Star said therapy helped him move on and become “divorced’ from the idea of being enshrined in baseball’s most hallowed institution.
“I have a life today that I didn’t have for the first 40 years,” Rodriguez said. “If I went to the Hall of Fame, in a weird way, I would be hollow inside. I would still be in a lot of pain.
“I would rather have what I have today, because it really helped me unlock a lot of the work that I needed to do.”
The 50-year-old detailed the critical role therapy played in his life — particularly after his 2014 suspension put his career in jeopardy — in the recent HBO docuseries “Alex vs. A-Rod.”
Describing himself as a “recovering narcissist,” Rodriguez used the documentary to spotlight his therapy in Colorado with Dr. David Schnarch, who passed away in 2020.
Rodriguez admitted to The Athletic that he was reluctant at first — unsure of what the process would accomplish — but eventually found it transformative. The work, he added, helped him confront his past issues and guided how he approached life after baseball, which now includes roles as a Fox analyst and part-owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I’m like, ‘Whoa, what the hell am I doing here? This doesn’t make any sense,’” Rodriguez said. “But the more I stayed with it, the more it started to really affect me in a positive way — seeing things in a different way and then looking at my past, definitely not as a victim, but understanding some of my behavior and making sure that I’m learning from those behaviors and it never happens again.”
While Rodriguez may be at peace with the Hall of Fame, he has remained vocal about it – including congratulating former Yankees teammates Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia on their recent inductions.
Rodriguez also blasted what he called the “hypocrisy” of former commissioner Bud Selig — who oversaw his initial 211-game suspension — being in the Hall of Fame while PED-linked players such as Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire are not. The suspension was eventually reduced to 162 games, all of the 2014 season.
“All of this stuff you’re talking about was under Bud Selig’s watch,” Rodriguez said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “The Stephen A. Smith Show” in late November. “And the fact that those two guys are not in, but somehow Bud Selig is in the Hall of Fame — that to me feels like there’s a little bit of hypocrisy around that.”
Weeks earlier, Rodriguez told TODAY host Craig Melvin he is “definitely” not getting into Cooperstown — before answering whether he believes he deserves to be there.
“Of course, of course,” Rodriguez said.
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