Advertisement

A-Rod contributes double, takes final bows in emotional Yankees farewell

The final chapter of Alex Rodriguez’s New York Yankees career was officially written Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez, who will now be released from his player’s contract, went out on a high note given his unusual circumstances, contributing an RBI double in four at-bats. Manager Joe Girardi then allowed Rodriguez to man third base for one batter during the ninth of New York’s 6-3 win against the Rays, before removing him to take his final bows.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

It was a highly emotional scene that had built up the entire game and was paid off perfectly with A-Rod’s final appearance coming in the field.

Rodriguez had been greeted by standing ovations before each plate appearance. His first time up, he responded with one of his best at-bats of the season against a tough pitcher in Rays’ right-hander Chris Archer. His run-scoring double there was his first extra-base hit since homering against Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman on July 18. The two-bagger also moved him into 30th place on MLB’s all-time list at 548, breaking a tie with the similarly polarizing and controversial Manny Ramirez.

And yes, he was especially amped for that first plate appearance, as this fact indicates.

The rest of A-Rod’s offensive game was rather anti-climatic. He grounded out to shortstop on a 2-2 pitch leading off the fourth inning. In his third at-bat against Archer, A-Rod finally looked overmatched, going down swinging on three pitches. That was one of eight strikeouts for Archer on the evening. In what proved to be his final at-bat, Rodriguez grounded softly into Tampa Bay’s defensive shift on the very first pitch.

Alex Rodriguez smokes an RBI double to tie the game 1-1 in the first inning. (AP)
Alex Rodriguez smokes an RBI double to tie the game 1-1 in the first inning. (AP)

For those who predicted fireworks at the plate after his pre-game ceremony was interrupted by thunder and lightning, it fell short of expectations. On a personal level though, he can at least hang his hat on contributing to a Yankees victory and also the warm reception he received from the fans.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!