Alex Rodriguez is a man tempered by time, stupidity, and embarrassment. His maturation as a man hasn’t come easy, which is why he’d be a great team owner.

Alex Rodriguez is serious about making a play to buy the New York Mets.

He views himself in the same league as Derek Jeter, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and even Amar’ e Stoudemire who bought a stake in Hapoel Jerusalem, a pro basketball team in Israel, in 2013.

But Alex Rodriguez is not always taken seriously, and maybe that’s because he has never taken life seriously.

He openly lied about his use of steroids, ultimately earning the embarrassment of a one-year suspension from MLB in 2014.

He was 37 then, an age when most men have left behind self-pity, irresponsibility, and the need for phony self-promotion. But Alex Rodriguez was not broken. He carried on – he grew up.

A-Rod Measured Against His Peers

Alex Rodriguez has undoubtedly made mistakes. But he would not be alone when measured against his peers as a team owner.

Nor was David Beckham broken when it was revealed his marriage to Posh Spice, AKA Victoria Adams had gone wrong with rumors of dual infidelity

The couple was permitted to deal with their mistakes privately, and their marriage survived.

Magic Johnson retired from the NBA when he announced he had contracted HIV/AIDS on Nov. 7, 1991.

Almost exclusively transmitted by sexual contact, Johnson was never put through the wringer with an answer as to how he acquired the disease. Universally, he received sympathy from fans and media.

Back in 1992, Michael Jordan testified in a money laundering and drug trial of James “Slim” Bouler, a convicted drug dealer.

The police found a check for $57K, and it turned out that Jordan had written it to clear his golf gambling losses.

And yet, Michael Jordan continues his magic carpet ride to ever-increasing popularity as a God in the world of sports.

Alex Rodriguez Is Motivated And Ready

A significant portion of fans and media marvel with awe and suspicion at the Alex Rodriguez we see today. He can’t be real, they say. And if it is an act, he deserves an Academy Award for his performance.

Maybe, maybe not. But one truth that rises above all others is that Alex Rodriguez loves baseball. That has never been an act.

Throughout the years, A-Rod’s teammates never wavered from the respect and gratitude they held for him.

Here’s Mark Teixeira: “So here I am, this kid from Maryland, going out to eat with the greatest baseball player of his time. That was just a special thing for me.

Following Alex Rodriguez’s final game as a Major Leaguer, CC Sabathia said: “He’ll be remembered as a good teammate, someone who would help out the young guys and talk about all aspects of the game.”

Rodriguez Knows Baseball, But You’d Never Know It

“All aspects of the game” is where Rodriguez shines. He is and always has been a student of the game. He knows baseball.

The trouble is you would hardly know that in his seat as an ESPN analyst, where he becomes A-Rod and not Alex Rodriguez.

ESPN is, by self-definition, an Entertainment sports network. The execs there dream of ratings when they see J-Lo show up with Alex for a telecast.

They want to see bantering, humor, and cheeking exchanges between their on-air “personalities”.

A-Rod excels in this capacity, but Alex Rodriguez is looking for more.

He wants the stage, but he wants it to be real as an owner of a major league baseball team where he can apply all of his attributes to a winning formula.

And above all, he has a score to settle with his arch-rival Derek Jeter who got there first as a team owner. He is motivated.

Ten years ago, most, including this writer, would say no way. Grow up. Stop the lies and get yourself a life.

Well, guess what? Alex Rodriguez did that,

Moreover, he’s upping the ante with a relationship that could be just another one of those Hollywood fly-overs. Instead, he is maturing into something real as Jennifer Lopez invests her fortune behind her husband-to-be.

Wanna See The Inner City Rivalry Explode?

I do. I want to see Alex Rodriguez as the owner of the New York Mets go full blast against the cross-town rival in the Bronx, those damn New York Yankees (my team, by the way).

But I want to see it because above all else I root for baseball.

And because I trust that Rodriguez has not only the money but the grit to lift the Mets franchise to a new level that eliminates misadvised trades, signings, and other internal ineptness holding the team down.

It is, after all, a matter of trust. An answer to the question – is Alex Rodriguez removed from the “sins” of his past – and is he now fully matured and ready to lead a team worth almost $3 billion?

A-Rod Can Take The Mets Home

All I can say is if I had the money, I’d be one of the first in line at the Chase Bank – the bank rounding up investors for the purchase of the Mets – with my checkbook open.

Alex Rodriguez will never put his suspect past behind him, nor should he.

Because it’s the one motivation compelling his need to enter a new phase of his life – and a parade down the Canyon Of Heroes in Manhattan celebrating the first Mets World Series Title in 34 years.

Seriously, Alex Rodriguez is ready for the challenge. And please, stop laughing – just wait and see.

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