Alex Rodriguez is more than “a very good player”

New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez heads to first on an RBI single in the seventh inning of Game 1 of the American League division baseball series against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

Alex Rodriguez sat for a press conference today. He didn’t say anything too terribly interesting. Winning the World Series wasn’t getting a monkey off his back, “it was a humongous gorilla that came off my back.” He’s happy. He wants to win more. He knows he’s come a long way since last winter. Pretty conventional stuff.

The MLB.com article talking about the press conference had an interesting passage, however:

Rodriguez is about to embark upon a most critical segment of his career. These next few seasons are the ones that will define him in history -- either as a very good player who did a few special things, or as one of the most sensational, remarkable talents to play the game.

“A very good player who did a few special things?” Doesn’t that undersell Rodriguez a bit? If he got hit by a bus tomorrow his career would end with him at 8th on the all-time home run list and three MVPs under his belt, with the majority of his time spent at shortstop. To steal Bill James’ line about Rickey Henderson, if you cut him in two you’d have two Hall of Famers.