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Alex Rodriguez has never been shy about discussing his year-long suspension from Major League Baseball in the midst of baseball’s steroid scandal. Rodriguez has been able to rehab his image and has found success sit his playing days ended, but he is still willing to reflect on the life-changing moment.
Rodriguez appeared on Danica Patrick’s podcast, Pretty Intense, to discuss the suspension and what he learned during his time away from the game.
“I made mistakes, I doubled down and as a result of that, I served the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history for PED use,” Rodriguez said during the interview, as transcribed by USA Today’s For the Win. “That just literally took me to my knees in tears and said, ‘Oh my god, I just completely [expletive] up my entire life.’ I had tears coming out of my eyes, and I went down to my knees and just like, ‘Oh my god, it’s over. What have I done to myself?’ And at that point, I was still kind of in denial. … That was the entire problem. All of it. The answer was yes, it was my fault in every way. And that’s what I’ve learned.
“For three weeks, I basically didn’t leave the house. Couple weeks, I was just so sad. I didn’t see my daughters. I was sick to my stomach. I would wake up in the middle of the night in tears going like, ‘I’m the only jackass that had pocket aces that finds a way to lose his [expletive] hand.’ Just so painful.”
Rodriguez went on to discuss the lessons he can use from the suspension as a lesson for his children.
“The mistakes are, to me, where I get an opportunity to say, ‘This is what Daddy did, and this is the good, this is the bad, this is the ugly, and you want to stay away from the latter too.’ And again, those honest conversations — even as a father and going back to them and saying, ‘Daddy made a mistake’ — I think is an investment into our relationship in the future because I never want them to bull-[expletive] Daddy when the tough gets going.
“And having teenage daughters — I have one already and a couple more on the way — that’s a scary thought. So that is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but hoping that one day, they will come clean with me when they have to.”
During his MLB career, Rodriguez played for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. Rodriguez was a 14-time All-Star, three-time AL MVP, 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner, two-time Gold Glove winner, and a 2009 World Series champion.
