Alex Rodriguez’s advice to Astros: Show some remorse

Alex Rodriguez knows a thing or two about being involved in a cheating scandal. In 2013, the three-time MVP was suspended by Major League Baseball for 211 games for his involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. The punishment was eventually reduced to 162 games, keeping him out of action for the entire 2014 season.

Rodriguez, now an analyst with ESPN, spoke about baseball’s latest cheating scandal involving the Astros and stealing signs with technology. His advice to the Astros? Show some remorse.

The full segment from A-Rod, via ESPN:

I think the one thing that really has upset the fans is: You cheat, you win a championship, there is no suspension, and then there’s no remorse. And the last one I think is probably the worst one because people want to see remorse. They want a real, authentic apology and they have not received that thus far. And I can just tell you this, Matty [Matt Vasgersian], from a guy who has made as many mistakes as anybody on the biggest stage, I served the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history. It cost me well over $35 million. And you know what? I deserved that. And as a result, I came back, I owned it after acting like a buffoon for a long time. I had my apologies, and then I went dark. I wanted my next move to be contrite, but I also wanted to go out and play good baseball and change my narrative. The way you change your narrative is you have to be accountable. You’ve earned all of this negative talk. You’ve earned whatever comes your way, including whether it’s hit by a pitch or negative press. You have divorced yourself from having the ability to protect yourself.

Insightful stuff from Rodriguez, who has completely revitalized his public image and reputation since his 2014 suspension. While some may never forgive him for cheating, he rebounded well enough to not only join ESPN’s broadcast booth for the most prestigious regular season baseball program, Sunday Night Baseball, he also worked as a broadcaster for FS1, joined Shark Tank as a cast member, and hosted a show on CNBC.

The Astros have responded to their many follies with arrogance. Few members of the 2017 team have expressed any kind of regret for breaking the rules, excepting Ken Giles. They should heed Rodriguez’s advice if they want to move past this scandal and begin to rebuild their reputations.

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