Submitted for your approval, Alex Rodriguez’s 2004 season:
.286/.375/.512
.301 EQA
36 HR, 106 RBI, 112 R
28 SB (88 %)
Those are some pretty numbers, especially when they’re coming from your 28-year-old third-baseman who just posted a 106 Rate in the field and is under contract for the next six years. Those numbers represent what just might have been the greatest season ever by a Yankee third baseman, and was at worst one of the four best alongside Red Rolfe’s 1939, Graig Nettles’ 1976, and Frank Baker’s 1918.
So why do they seem so disappointing?
Back in February, I contributed a piece to this site that debunked the myth that Alex Rodriguez is, or was on his way to becoming, the greatest shortstop ever to play the game (Honus Wagner has him beat any way you slice it) and gave lie to the oft-touted fact that Rodriguez is, or has been, the best player in the game (ditto Barry Bonds). Those misconceptions of Rodriguez’s standing in the game might answer my question in part, but they’re only part of the story.
