Alex Rodriguez is many things. He's an extraordinary talented player, once considered the
best player in the game and a first ballot Hall of Famer.
But the Yankees third baseman is much, much more than that. He's become the freak show
at the circus that people just can't take their eyes off. He's the guy with the souped up
engine, (illegal, of course) in the NASCAR race that everybody tunes into just to celebrate
when he gets in a big wreck. He's a drama queen that creates attention by just walking
down the street (or taking his shirt off in Central Park). He's become the Gordon Gekko of
baseball, a villain who lies, cheats, and flaunts his enormous wealth. The media is obsessed
with him and fans love to hate A-Rod, A-Fraud, and A-Roid.
He's also underpaid.
That's right. Alex Rodriguez, the highest-paid player in the history of the game, isn't making
what he's really worth. He's banked almost a half-billion dollars playing a kid's game, but he's
grossly underpaid. I never thought I'd say it, but the $30 million dollars he's making this
season is not enough. Seriously.
Without A-Rod in the line-up, the Yankees and the ratings for the YES Network were as flat
as an uncapped bottle of Coke that's been sitting around for three days. The team was boring,
and the YES telecasts of the game were as exciting as C-SPAN. In A-Rod's first game back
this season, the network pulled in a 4.2 rating, which dwarfed their normal rating of 2.5.
Attendance is up and the Yankees started winning, which all adds up to more money in the
pockets of the Steinbrenner's. Thanks to A-Rod.
The king of steroid scandals has also boosted sales of the tabloids in New York City. A-Rod
has given them enough fodder to produce scintillating headlines and the gossipy stories that
New Yorkers love. Every day is something new, something explosive, and something the
tabloids can use their fertile imaginations to make even juicer. With Weiner-gate having gone
limp, the back pages have dominated by the disgraced superstar. Thank you, Alex Rodriguez
Sports talk radio has become far more interesting since A-Rod got suspended, appealed, and
returned to the line-up. It's all A-Rod, all the time. Vinny from the Bronx can't stand him,
Betty from Bayone wants to spit on him, but executives of all the talk radio stations love it.
Increased ratings means more dollars in their pockets and they can thank A-Rod.
Ratings across the board, for YES, the MLB Network, and opponents of the Yankees with
their own networks, have increased significantly. Hits, views, and comments on sports and
news websites have skyrocketed since A-Rod was suspended and came back. He is the best
reality show going right now and everybody but A-Rod is making a lot of money off it. He
is a bigger star than all the Housewives, Bachelors, Bachelorettes, and American Idol's
combined and he's not getting an extra dime because of it.
Few people like A-Rod, most can't stand him. But we are all watching him as if he's the
highest-rated and best reality show of all-time. He makes for great theatre and he's grossly
underpaid.
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