Alex Rodriguez isn’t just grappling with his Hall of Fame snub — he’s also questioning the logic behind who gets in.
Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig was inducted into Cooperstown in 2017, while some of the era’s biggest stars remain excluded, blocked by the same PED stigma that follows Rodriguez. For A-Rod, that contrast is glaring.
Talking with Stephen A. Smith on his SiriusXM show this week, Rodriguez addressed the topic directly, pointing out what he sees as hypocrisy in the Hall of Fame process. During the conversation, Smith said that he could see why Bonds might have been tempted to use steroids after watching McGwire and Sosa become celebrated heroes during the 1998 home run chase.
“All of this stuff you’re talking about was under Bud Selig’s watch,” Rodriguez said. “The fact that those two guys are not in, but somehow, Bud Selig is in the Hall of Fame, that to me feels like there’s a little bit, some hypocrisy around that.”
Rodriguez, who is running for the Hall of Fame for the fifth time, has yet to reach 40 percent of the vote. The admission threshold is 75 percent, which means his hopes of entering Cooperstown remain slim. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, despite their historic statistics, are also running out of chances due to their ties to performance-enhancing drugs.
The voting process complicates things. Selig’s induction came from the 16-person Today’s Game Era Committee, not the BBWAA vote, which only considers players.
The broader historical context: Selig oversaw the league from 1992 through 2015, a period that saw the home run chases of McGwire and Sosa in 1998 as well as Bonds’ 73-home-run season in 2001, while MLB largely ignored PED use until the 2004 Joint Drug Agreement.
Rodriguez also reflected on his career, particularly his suspension.
“Once I put myself in therapy, and the year suspension was two years into that, and it took me, and I’m still in therapy. It’s important to explain to the young people, not just to share, hey, here are my great stats and my home runs, but here’s how I screwed up.”
While discussing his HBO docuseries “Alex vs. A-Rod,” Rodriguez reflected on how his ego and self-awareness shaped the way he acted in the Yankees’ clubhouse, including his relationship with Derek Jeter.
“Not only the ego but the lack of self-awareness and understanding my place in the clubhouse, understanding my place in the world. You know, the truth is, Derek is a phenomenal guy,” he said.
“I first met Derek when he was 17. I think I’m catching up to Derek at 17, now at 50. Now we’re pretty much on the same level at 17. I mean, Derek’s never made a mistake in his life, and I’ve made every mistake in the book. And I love myself for that. I love myself for the good, the bad and the ugly.”
For Rodriguez, the Hall of Fame question isn’t just about numbers — it’s about the long shadow of an era defined by PEDs and personality clashes. That included the acrimonious 2013 showdown with Selig, when he received a 162-game suspension — the longest non-lifetime ban in MLB history — and later filed a lawsuit against the league, which he ultimately dropped.