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How A-Rod can be a good guy again after hitting homer No. 660

Mike Oz

Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate Friday night, a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of a tied game, playing for baseball's most famous team in one of the game's most historic stadiums.

He watched three balls go past him, then swung and connected, sending a baseball over the Green Monster at Fenway Park for his 660th career home run, which tied him with Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time list and put the New York Yankees ahead of the Boston Red Sox. The homer was the difference in a 3-2 win.

For all intents and purposes, this should have been historic. It was dramatic, sure. But as far as history goes, this was hollow. And deservedly so.

(AP)
(AP)

If it were somebody else — someone we liked — this would be a moment etched in time. Instead, it's another controversial day in the life of Alex Rodriguez, where we're forced to downplay his talent and accomplishments because of the poor choices he's made.

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But with 660 here, A-Rod has a chance to win back some good-guy points now. Not enough to restore his legacy. Or even to stop people from making "AROID" jokes. But there are just enough good-guy points out there that your average baseball fan might have something good to say about him one day in the future.

It's not about the home run at all, really. It's about the money.

As part of his contract with the Yankees, A-Rod is supposed to get a $6 million "milestone" bonus for each titan he passes on the all-time home-run list. The Yankees, when they agreed to the contract, envisioned a future in which people were cheering A-Rod (and buying products) as he climbed the list, not groaning and calling him a cheater when he tied Willie Mays and tried to prolong his career enough to chase down Babe Ruth.

Now, the Yankees reportedly don't want to pay A-Rod the $6 million. Not after all the drama the past couple years. Both sides, according to the media whispers, are ready to go to arbitration over the $6 million. A-Rod's playing OK these days, but make no mistake, there's still a cold war going between him and the Yankees front office. Going to court over $6 million would be another A-Rod sideshow. Yipee. Grab your popcorn.

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(AP)
(AP)

It doesn't have to be that way, though. And A-Rod holds a little bit of power here that can get him those good-guy points in the eye of the public.

He can do one of two things, and they're not all that hard for a guy who has made $378 million since 1994 by playing pro baseball:

1. Just drop the whole thing. Here's a newsflash: People don't like A-Rod, but a lot of people also don't like the Yankees. If he can be the bigger man, saying he doesn't want to fight anymore and doesn't care about the money, the Yankees may become the bullies. Then boom, sympathy for A-Rod. Does he need another $6 million? No way. This, like many things A-rod, is a matter of pride. He pushed his pride out of the way once and accepted his suspension for 2014. He can do the same here and people would view it as the respectful decision. The PR alone would worth more than $6 million.

2. Donate the money. It's a different maneuver, but the same play. If A-Rod comes out and says he wants to donate the money to a good cause — anything really, but for the sake of argument, let's pick a charity that supporters firefighters in New York City — the Yankees certainly won't look as good fighting him on it. Again, this is all about PR and winning over the public. It's like taking a punch to look like a better person than your ex. A-Rod's taken plenty of punches over the past few years, some harder than giving $6 million to charity, so might as well take another.

The odds of either of these happening? Slim. We're more likely to see another A-Rod sideshow, another week of A-Rod in court, another round of headlines from his legal team.

Once again, A-Rod has a choice to make. His record in these situations isn't stellar, so we don't exactly trust him to understand the best way to play this. But we do know that A-Rod is a guy who could use a handful of good-guy points more than he can use another $6 million.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!