This is not a scientific analysis with layers of complex baseball statistics. Instead it is the humble perspective of but one baseball fan who was witness to the careers of two players who rose to greatness before our eyes.

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez and Derek Sanderson Jeter were born within the same solar year (1974-1975) within a few miles of each of other. Alex, the slightly younger of the two, was born in New York City and Derek in New Jersey. They both moved around when they were kids but they both ended up loving NY teams. Alex the Mets and Derek the Yankees.

Both played baseball as boys and were quickly regarded as professional prospects. Derek signed with the Yankees, missing out on his last year of college, and spent 3 years in the minor leagues before he became American League Rookie of the Year in 1996 . Alex signed right out of high school and was a major league baseball star at 21 years old. His first year he came extremely close to becoming the youngest Most Valuable Player in baseball history.

Eventually Alex ended up first in Seattle, then in Texas excelling in the excruciating midday sun of Arlington Stadium. Looking back it is hard to believe the numbers that Alex was compiling in his early career. At the same time Derek settled into Yankee Stadium and grooved his way into Yankee history. A Derek Jeter highlight-reel is the story of the recent NY Yankees.

Then in 2004 fate took an amazing twist and Alex ended up in NYC with the Yankees. This homecoming, so to speak, is when Alex’s fall from grace began and this is where I start having some problems with fan reactions to this player.

Alex Rodriguez was an all-star shortstop for his entire major league career. Yet when he joined the Yankees they already had their masthead star Derek Jeter playing the same position. To adjust to the Yankees – and to be able to take advantage of the Yankees generosity – Alex switched his position to 3rd base. This willingness to acquiesce his position did not seem to impress anyone. To me that was the first really bad sign.

Let me state that I have never met either man. I do not know them other than media and through others who have met them. I can tell you that limo drivers, waitresses and other service employees I know who have dealt with both men far prefer Mr. Jeter. I hold their opinion in high regard because they see the stars from a perspective that none of the rest of us do. I find it to be insightful.

It also seems clear from their appearances in the media that Derek Jeter is a mild and contemplative man who accepts his responsibility as an athlete/star with some reluctance. On the other hand Alex Rodriguez seems tight and pensive and aloof. He is not seen doing work for those who are in need while Derek Jeter started the Turn 2 organization for kids that is highly regarded.

The details of these character traits started to seep out into public awareness through the bright lights that are perpetually trained on the Yankees, I doubt that it would have caused much of a stir if Alex had been producing on the ball field. Yet unlike Derek, Alex had problems in the clutch. At least that is what Yankee fans felt. Other than the historic 2009 World Series season, Alex got booed for every player he left in scoring position and that seemed like a lot. In fact the booing never seemed to stop.

This is the point where I feel it is important to take a look at the fans. We love those who perform. We boo those who do not. It is as simple as that. Everything generates from the core of winning. Everything else is secondary. We adore winners and throw away the others. We demand 100% effort 100% of the time. We have little patience or compassion for injury or age. We live in a disposable society that is always looking for the newest and best. That includes athletes who often find themselves without a life in their mid 30′s. Their endings are rarely as storybook as their careers.

And so here are 2 men, virtually the same age, from the same area with similar backgrounds, on the same side of the same infield of the same team, but living in two different worlds. One highly respected, cheered and revered. The other, maybe more talented, being rejected. Being loathed. Being blamed. Being booed.

On top of all that came new allegations of steroids and HGH i.e. performance enhancing drugs. According the Major League Baseball’s investigation, Alex Rodriguez used them often during certain parts of the career. Derek Jeter apparently never has. From a fan’s perspective, one player is pure grit and guts and the other is a cheater. It is not hard to see why the fans feel as they do.

However we should keep in mind that MLB knew of this steroid issue for many years and allowed it to continue. Some say they encouraged and so did the fans. We loved home runs more than a player’s health and so we had the Sammy Sosa – Mark McGuire – Barry Bonds phenomena. We loved and adored them right up to the minute that we watched them end their careers in shame and exile with only our loathing to keep them company. *

Which brings us back to Alex and Derek.

Derek sat out almost all of last season with a broken bone in his foot. Alex Rodriguez underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and bone impingement in his left hip. He was out for most of the season. However late in the year Alex came back and played 44 games. I have to admit that I was rooting for him. He did not have great numbers but as John Sterling said during one broadcast “Alex held this team together at the end of the year and he did it on two bad wheels (hips).”

At the end of the season Alex was suspended by MLB for a term that will surely end his career. No last lap. No glory for the parting warrior. Good riddance is the general feeling. He will likely be forgotten except in conversations about greatness gone bad.

On the other hand Derek, with his 3,000 plus hits, has announced his retirement at the end of this season. His announcement sent ticket sales for Yankee games right through the roof in every stadium they will play in. Victory lap? You bet. It will be more glorious than Mariano’s. And Mr. Jeter is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame. His historic plays, his tenacity, his pure enthusiasm and obvious love and respect for the game will be the fodder for vivid baseball tales for generations to come. The shortstop. The Yankee. The hero.

And so goes the Ballad of Alex, Derek and America. Over the years we have learned a lot about them but it seems that only one comes away with no scars. No flaws. The victor. A winner in our eyes.

____________________________________

____________________________________

* Mark McGuire was hired as a batting coach for the Saint Louis Cardinals. He will never be in the Hall of Fame.