Alex Rodriguez watched how Hall of Fame voting went for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens on Tuesday with keen interest, as he understands all too well how their fate will presumably determine how voters will view him a few years from now.
Rodriguez, much like Bonds and Clemens, obviously will be forever tainted in many voters’ eyes by his association with the PED era. Rodriguez, not surprisingly, hopes both players ultimately earn enshrinement in Cooperstown.
“Of course I want them to get in, because that would mean that I have an opportunity to get in one day,” Rodriguez said on ESPN’s “First Take” Wednesday.
Both Bonds and Clemens of course failed to net the necessary 75 percent of the vote, announced Tuesday, but both made incremental progress with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Clemens, who garnered 57.3 percent of the vote in 2017, saw a rise to 59.5 percent. Bonds, meanwhile, rose from 56.4 percent to 59.1 percent.
Rodriguez, as he has in the past, made it abundantly clear Wednesday on “First Take” that he hopes to be inducted one day, calling the Hall of Fame the “ultimate place.”
However, Rodriguez recognizes he’s alone responsible for marring his outstanding career by becoming embroiled in a PED-related scandal. The slugger was suspended for the entire 2014 MLB season after admitting to PED use.
“I’ve taken the approach that I think talking about it is best,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve made my mistakes, I’ve paid huge penalties.
“I would love to get in [to the Hall of Fame], but I understand that I made my own bed. So if I don’t make it to the Hall of Fame, I can live with that. I will be bummed, it would suck and I can’t believe that I put myself in this situation. But if that happens, I have no one to blame but myself.”
Rodriguez has been remarkably forthright about his PED-tainted career over the years. While such openness is admirable, it remains to be seen how such candor will be viewed in the eyes of Hall voters when A-Rod’s name is added to the ballot in 2022.
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