Benjamin Bakshiyev
Professor Curseen
English 2150
April 20, 2015
Both the media and society now play a huge role in the sports world because every Athlete has to worry about the image he portrays to the public. On February 17, 2005, Alex Rodriguez, or also known as A-Rod, wrote a handwritten letter where he apologized to the fans of baseball for using Performance Enhancing Drugs. In Tim Brown’s article, “Never mind A-Rod’s apology, the question now is can he hit?”, Brown states, “Rodriguez did the right thing Tuesday, even if it wasn’t necessary.” Brown points out that no one forced Alex Rodriguez to write this letter, but Brown recognizes that Rodriguez wrote the letter because both the fans’ and media’s perception of Alex Rodriguez is a critical part of sports. In addition, Brown comprehends that Alex Rodriguez is trying to appeal to the fans by writing a letter of apology, but Brown is well aware that the only way for Alex Rodriguez to be popular in the eyes of both the fans and the media, then Rodriguez has to hit a couple baseballs out of the park. Even though Alex Rodriguez’s apology is the foundation of Brown’s article, Brown does an excellent job of using A-Rod’s apology as a form of reference to essentially display what actually is the important about Alex Rodriguez and that is the remainder of Rodriguez’s baseball career.
Baseball, considered to be America’s pastime, is just like any other sport where athletes have their days number for how long they can compete at a high level. Brown makes it incredibly clear that the letter might help the fans forget what Rodriguez has done because the Performance Enhancement Drugs scandal is now in the past and Rodriguez served all his punishments, but just writing a letter will not help Rodriguez be reinstated as the New York Yankees third baseman. Brown elaborates by saying, “We’re reminded the game trundles ahead, as it will with or without Alex Rodriguez, no matter who plays third base for the New York Yankees, no matter how 654 home runs and three MVP honors may be viewed, and no matter if this ends well or not.” Brown’s intentional use of Rodriguez’s career stats was a brilliant way of demonstrating how the past is no longer in the mind of either the fans or media. Tim Brown wants to make it clear that Alex Rodriguez’s apology is only a step in the right direction and Brown does that just perfectly.
Furthermore, Time is a valuable commodity that can never be given back to someone. Time is exactly what Alex Rodriguez lost when he was caught using Performance Enhancing Drugs, or PEDS. Brown reiterates that in Alex Rodriguez’s apology letter, Rodriguez understands that he messed up and served the time for his mistakes. Brown intentionally puts an emphases Alex Rodriguez’s loss of time because of how important time is in baseball. Alex Rodriguez, 39 years old, is at a point an age where not many superstars can produce astonishing results for their team. Tim Browns writes, “He is 39 years old and lucky to have made it this far. He is lucky to be getting another shot at this.” Brown realizes that if Rodriguez really wants to make it up to his fans then Rodriguez can not only write a simple letter of apology, but he has to perform out on the baseball diamond.
Moreover, fans and media play an enormous role for who gets to play and who does not. Likewise, both Tim Brown and Alex Rodriguez are well aware that fans have a large amount of power in who gets to step up to the plate each game. If the fans show love to certain player then that player will have a greater chance to play because it will cause the attendance of fans to skyrocket; hence, more revenue will be produced for the organization that owns that very player. With Rodriguez being conscious of the effect society has on who plays or not, Alex Rodriguez knows that fans do not appreciate a player who tried to formerly “cheat” the game of baseball. In clever manner, Brown deliberately indicates in his article that Alex Rodriguez “can be accepted back by teammates. He can show up every day with the purest of intentions. He can make nice with Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine.” By involving this quote in his article, Brown does a tremendous job explaining how Rodriguez has to please not only the New York Yankee’s organization, but also the New York Yankee’s fan base.
In addition, Tim Brown does a wonderful job of enlightening the readers on why Alex Rodriguez’s released his apology letter on Tuesday, February 17, 2005. Tim Brown writes, “In a nod to the cruelty (or, if you prefer, whimsy) of that timing, the letter arrived a few hours after Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch was sentenced to four years in federal prison for, among other things, supplying illegal substances to Alex Rodriguez.” Tim Brown also states, “It arrived a day after noted PED hound Jason Giambi retired. It arrived the day before spring training camps in Arizona and Florida would fill with pitchers and catchers. A day of, appropriately, renewal.” With that statement, Brown makes it obvious that this was the optimal day for Alex Rodriguez to publish his letter of apology. If Alex Rodriguez was to publish this letter any other day, it would not have received as much positive feedback as it did. This shows that Alex Rodriguez is well aware of how important the perception of media and society is. Alex Rodriguez needed all the extra help he can get. Clearly Brown is very knowledgeable on the topic of Performance Enhancement Drugs and was able to unmistakably indicate why Rodriguez choose the day he did
All in all, Tim Brown chose an interesting way to signify what is actually important about Alex Rodriguez, but Brown is able to execute this style of writing perfectly. Tim Brown is able to show how media and society affect athletes today. Additionally, Brown seamlessly talks about Alex Rodriguez’s career, a player who once considered the best baseball player of his time, and Brown also indicates how Rodrigues relies on whether or not he can impress the fans. However, Tim Brown does not just come out and simply say no one cares about Alex Rodriguez if he cannot hit the ball. In fact, Brown uses Alex Rodriguez letter as a basis for what Rodriguez actually has to do. Tim Brown knows that the apology letter was clearly an attempt by A-Rod to help get his popularity back with the media and fans, and Brown was able to build on top of that with his own arguments.
Brown, Tim. “Never Mind A-Rod’s Apology, the Question Now Is Can He Hit?” Yahoo Sports. Yahoo, 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://sports.yahoo.com/news/never-mind-a-rod-s-apology–the-question-now-is-can-he-hit-213646252.html>.
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