Yankees Announcer Makes Wild Alex Rodriguez Suggestion

With this in mind, Yankees' play-by-play announcer Michael Kay offered a bold suggestion to Rodriguez in hopes of improving his Hall of Fame chances. Kay's idea is for A-Rod to come out of retirement for just one at-bat to restart his eligibility clock.

"I’ve said it to Alex privately: come back for one at-bat," Kay said in Tuesday's episode of The Michael Kay Show on ESPN. "I’m sure the [Miami] Marlins would love to pack the place. He’s in unbelievable shape. He’s in the same shape he was when he played.

"If you come back for one at-bat, then you restart the clock. Then it takes five more years before you’re eligible for the Hall of Fame, and then you’ve got 10 more years of being on the ballot," Kay continued. "That gives you 15 more years if you get one at-bat. Right now, his clock is running. He’s almost out of time, and I don’t think he’s going to make it up to 75%."

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It wasn't long ago in the sports world when a Hall of Fame-caliber player reset his eligibility by returning to action. This past year in the NFL, quarterback Philip Rivers came out of retirement at age 44 to serve as a placeholder for the injury-ravaged Indianapolis Colts. Rivers, who was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame before his brief return, reset his eligibility clock in the process and will need to wait five years before being considered for enshrinement in Canton.

But when Rodriguez stepped away from baseball, he was already 41 years old. A-Rod is now 51, and while Kay stated that he's still in strong athletic shape, there is a lot more preparation needed to return to the field than just staying in shape, especially when it's been over a decade since he last played professionally.

At the same time, coming back for just one at-bat simply to reset Hall of Fame eligibility wouldn't make a big difference. Rodriguez is one of the most accomplished players in MLB history with 696 career home runs, 113.6 fWAR, 14 All-Star selections, three AL MVP Awards and a World Series title. The reason why he's not in despite his laundry list of accomplishments is his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs, which even resulted in a season-long suspension in 2014.

That stigma severely hurt A-Rod's chances of getting into Cooperstown, especially when other legends like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens failed to get in due to their connections to PEDs. So even if he came out of retirement to get some extra years on the ballot, it's still unlikely for him to get in.

It doesn't seem like Rodriguez would be interested in doing this anyway, as he's come to terms with not becoming a Hall of Famer while owning up to his mistakes. Fortunately, that accountability is what allowed A-Rod to remain a prominent figure in the baseball world today, and his current actions towards promoting and growing the sport may have a stronger affect on his legacy than a Hall of Fame induction would.