Why New York Yankees Fans Won't Boo Alex Rodriguez

 

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The question has been up in the air ever since Alex Rodriguez came back from injury and began fighting his 211-game suspension handed down from Major League Baseball: will New York Yankees fans cheer the embattled slugger?

After playing a single three-game set on the road against the Chicago White Sox, it's clear that Rodriguez won't be a fan favorite away from home no matter where he goes. While there were some cheers from the minority of fans in attendance that wore the pinstripes, the hometown fans in Chicago weren't so friendly.

But things should and will be different once A-Rod returns to the Bronx on Friday night.

The Yankees third baseman hasn't exactly earned support from many these days. His exploits in alleged performance-enhancing drug use have earned A-Rod the label of cheater, and all of the other things he's being accused of are just piling on top of an already negative persona.

However, this is still sports and above all else, fans want their players to help them win. Regardless of what A-Rod may have done on and off the field, he can still help this team and is by far the best third baseman the Yanks have sent out to the field this season.

Yankees fans also know that while the American League East title looks to be nearly impossible to reach this season, the Wild Card standings are a bit more realistic with the Bombers being just seven games back. A bat like A-Rod's could help New York make up that deficit with a little over a month and a half to go.

The Yanks need to score runs--which is a big reason for their struggles of late--and A-Rod could very well supply what the team needs. So, with A-Rod being so important to this team, Yankee fans will ultimately support him because it's in their best interests for him to do well.

Another reason Rodriguez will be cheered is because there are a sect of fans out there that view him as a sympathetic figure. It may be hard to imagine, but many feel Rodriguez has been unfairly targeted and that his 211-game suspension was more personal for commissioner Bud Selig than anything else.

After all, it is the longest suspension in MLB history aside from numerous lifetime bans handed out by the league in the past. It is also outside the guidelines of suspensions set in place by the league's drug agreement.

Not to mention, this is the same league that turned a blind eye to the widespread use of PEDS in the past and is now trying to clean up its own mess by trying to make an example out of Rodriguez, whether unjustly so or not.

A-Rod is just one man fighting an entire league, and in many cases an entire planet that thinks negatively of him because of several blunders he's made in his life. Yankee fans are used to and understand the "me against the world" attitude as fans of one of the most hated franchises on Earth.


This support will only last for a certain amount of time, though. If A-Rod starts to show the old, non-clutch version of himself and routinely doesn't come through in big spots, then we might hear the boo birds in the Bronx rear their ugly heads.

Until that happens, the Yankee fans will welcome A-Rod with open arms as he returns home.