A-MVP

Leave it up to Alex Rodriguez to go from one of the most controversial figures in baseball back to the league’s most honored in a matter of only a few weeks.

He’s a walking, talking real-life soap opera with an intriguing, sometimes annoying, cliff hanger-ending seemingly every day. I’ll give him credit.  He has the unique ability to make people interested in every move he makes and roll their eyes at the same time.

Say what you will about him, but he’s great entertainment.

Did you see what Rodriguez did last night at Yankee Stadium? Who was he with after the game? He wants how much money? He’s leaving the Yankees? He announced his free agency during the World Series? The questions are almost enough to take away from the fact that he is one of the best players of his generation and could join the likes of Willie Mays as one of the greatest baseball figures of all time when he retires someday.

Almost enough. No player in the American League is more valuable.

He is an entertainer in every sense of the word. I suppose that’s what happens when a person evolves from a young phenomenon to a full-fledged superstar to an international force in front of the public eye in the span of 14 years or so. He is the ultimate childhood star. Think: Ricky Martin without Menudo or Danny Bonaduce without the chaos. I saw his growth from a distance when he played for the Seattle Mariners and first-hand everyday for three years during his time with the Texas Rangers. Watching him progress on the grand stage in New York only confirms my belief that the evolution of Rodriguez is the ultimate reality show. I’m betting he thought VH1’s “I love New York” was about him.

Depending on whom you ask, Rodriguez is “Al,” “Alex,” and “A-Rod,” so naturally that leads to a lot of name calling. Among the popular designations I’ve heard over the years are greedy, insecure, and insincere. Others have come up with nicer descriptions and the one label I see more fitting – the (Dominican) American Dream. That’s right. He’s doing what every person in this country would love to do if they had the chance. Who wouldn’t want to have a job you love, make all the money in the world, help out the community and have the world at your fingertips speaking English and Spanish?

Now don’t lie.

What I do find most bothersome about Rodriguez is his identity problem. Not his ... ours. Everybody wants to identify with him and has a real problem when they can’t. He is unique as a person, as a man, as a Dominican and as an American. I see him as neither a good guy nor a bad guy despite his efforts one to be one way or the other. He is just this 32-year old guy who plays for the Yankees and looks like he is going to stay there another 10 years after finalizing the $275 million deal. Granted, he is an extremely rich guy, but you can’t hate him for that even though I know many already do.

And by the way, the American League should name him its Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career Monday.  He’s the only person outside of Barry Bonds who makes winning the Most Valuable Player Award an afterthought. He’s that good.

The numbers this year were impressive, even by Rodriguez’s standards– .314 batting average, 54 home runs, and 156 RBIs. But that’s no surprise. Rodriguez will always have the statistics and be in the running for the MVP because he is naturally gifted and works hard to maintain his gift. The bigger questions involve how his team will perform during the season, what are his contributions during the wins, and how many voters he sours during the 162-game campaign.

The latter has the most impact. It’s also the most fun to watch.

He is arguably the only person in the game who can completely change a reporter’s point of view of him in one at-bat or conversation. In a matter of pitches or words, he can go from hated to loved or vice-versa. He can be chastised as a choker and then revered as a winner by the same people all within the same day. He can awe people. I’ve seen it. I also believe he can be in awe, not of baseball players, but of successful business men and women. His admiration of Warren Buffet dates at least back to his Rangers days when he brought Buffet up during batting practice in Spring Training and one of his teammates asked him if that was Jimmy’s brother.

Rodriguez will win his third AL MVP Award and in the end, that’s all that should matter when talking about him.