A-Rod: Is it the End, or a New Beginning?

The scientifically minded “artist-of-the-bat” should understand and adhere strictly to the rules of his mental-physical application, and rest his performance on this sure foundation. He should hold his thought perpetually to the idea that his natural talent and indisputable scientific certainty can and will evoke from Principle the rule for mastering the most difficult task in all of sports.

A-Rod                      

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There was no better athlete in the game over the last two decades than Alex Rodriguez. He hit home runs with greater ease than any other player in the game (except Barry Bonds). But why is it that opposing managers and pitchers hardly ever gave him an intentional pass, even in critical game – situations?
It’s probably because they felt (or knew) that if they didn’t make a mistake they’d be more likely to get him out than they would Barry Bonds. A-Rod does one thing that Barry did not do, and this creates a “margin –for-error” that prevents him from being an even better hitter.
Barry’s front foot hardly lifted off the ground, and moved only slightly forward while keeping his head and eyes perfectly still in his low center of gravity. Barry had little difficulty in planting his front foot properly when it was time to attack the ball with the synergistic forces of the legs, hips, shoulders, arms, and hands. Very seldom could a pitcher catch him off balance enough to disintegrate his swing.Bonds -stanceBarry Bonds HR2001-10-05-bonds homerun-follow through
A-Rod is different. His stance begins balanced, low, and stable. But as the pitcher releases the ball, A-Rod starts an obtrusive attack with what I’m sure he thinks is a precision “timing mechanism” to incorporate a power surge. In fact, it does nothing less than unwittingly denigrate what is intended to initiate a “masterful stroke.” RodriguezAlex 1He lifts his front foot high off the ground while he waits in “suspended animation” to detect the speed, direction, and nuances being delivered by the pitch before he abruptly lunges forward and down to plant the foot to begin the swing. If the plant is too early, he’s out in front of the pitch and loses much of his power. If he is late with the plant, the fast ball is by him.
It is not uncommon to witness the devastating effect of the “later” situation in the form of a called third strike when the ball speeds by him and his foot hasn’t yet planted. In the “former” situation, the effect of being too far out in front is usually not so devastating because his uncommon strength in the shoulders, arms, and hands affords him enough “hang-time” to at least make contact and string out a base hit or better.
The point of this article is to concede that A-Rod is a tremendously hard working baseball player. Everyone who knows of him presumes he is trying to be the best that he can be. His workout ethic seems to imply that he would be a “perfectionist” (even with all the steroid allegations). Now, even as an elder statesman, and if he can overcome his current “morality and ethical issues,” he can still be a productive ball-player if he can extricate himself from thinking he needs his “high leg-kick.”

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