Tommy Lasorda has a very strong opinion about New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Here’s a hint — it’s one that is shared among countless other sports fans across the world.
Speaking at a Baseball Assistance Team charity event in Manhattan on Tuesday, the 86-year-old Hall of Famer said he believes the 162-game suspension Rodriguez ultimately got was not enough.
“He should have gotten more,” Lasorda said, via ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin. “What he’s done? He’s trying to ruin the game. You can’t do that. He’s going to keep on trying to do something, but he’s got a suspension. He should just sit back and fill it out.”
The last thing A-Rod is going to do is quietly sit back and serve his suspension, as evidenced by the fact that he reportedly turned down a deal to serve a 50-game suspension at the beginning of last season.
“I was thinking, ‘At least this guy is doing it legitimately,’ and then find out he wasn’t,” Lasorda added. “That really turned my opinion of him.”
Lasorda, who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series championships in the 1980s, also took a strong stance against known performance-enhancing drug users being elected to the Hall of Fame.
“When someone breaks the rules, they don’t belong in there,” he said. “Would you have your son get A-Rod’s autograph? Would you like to have that?”
A-Rod has very few supporters remaining, but he doesn’t seem to care. Even members of the MLB Players Association have turned against him, with one player reportedly saying he hopes Rodriguez gets thrown at if he ever returns to the diamond. A-Rod cares about money and his personal legacy. He’s got plenty of the former. The latter will always be tarnished.
