Alex Rodriguez Tries To Make Amends With Apology To New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez had a 90 minute meeting with the New York Yankees on Tuesday afternoon, where he apologized to owner Hal Steinbrenner and other team executives for his suspension and performance enhancing drug use.

Alex Rodriguez apparently also apologized to the team for the way he handled his suspension, including some threats that the would file a lawsuit in order to get reinstated. According to ESPN, the two sides released a joint statement saying that Alex Rodriguez “initiated the meeting and apologized to the organization for his actions over the past several years.”

While the meeting between the team and Alex Rodriguez came as a bit of a surprise to Major League Baseball fans, it hardly seems as though it was spontaneous. The team had made it clear that Alex Rodriguez had a number of things he had to apologize for, including questioning the Yankees’ integrity in the Biogenesis case, before he would be allowed to compete for a spot on the team’s roster this season.

The timing of Alex Rodriguez’s apology is also likely not all that unexpected, considering that Spring Training camps are going to be opening across the league in the next few weeks. If there is anything surprising about the Tuesday report, it’s that the team allowed Alex Rodriguez to apologize at all. There were reports earlier in the year that the one-time sure-fire Hall of Famer wanted to make this apology quite a bit earlier. Those same reports claim he wanted to include his teammates in the meeting and that might have been why the Yankees originally said no.

It seems as if the front office wanted to have a chat with A-Rod before he got to meet with his teammates. It does appear that a meeting with the players and coaches is the next step, according to multiple sources close to the team. The real question now is whether or not Alex Rodriguez going on this apology tour is going to be enough when it comes to the fans and fellow players.

When A-Rod was outed as being someone who used performance enhancing drugs, there were a number of players who voiced their displeasure with the third baseman. There is also the question as to whether or not this one time superstar, at age 39, still has enough left in the tank to make it in the major leagues anymore. It appears the Yankees are willing to give Alex Rodriguez the chance to prove himself.

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]