The New York Yankees superstar designated hitter Alex Rodriguez just made history by tying the home run total of legendary Giant Willie Mays at 660. The contract that the Yankees restructured with him in 2007 has a clause that would pay him for achieving certain home run milestones such as this. Even with the achievement being celebrated by fans, the Yankees are planning to renege on the bonuses, claiming they can't market the record-breaking home run because of the tainted PED (Performance Enhancing Drugs) scandal that got him suspended for an entire season.
General Manager of the Yankees Brian Cashman gave his interpretation of the contract to ESPN:
"We have the right but not the obligation to do something, and that's it. We're going to follow the contract as we follow all contracts, so there is no dispute, from our perspective."
Our perspective.
It wasn't like the speculation of Rodriguez and performance enhancing drugs was anything new when that contract was signed by both sides. Then, Yankees should know they have an obligation to fulfill the bonuses.
Another upcoming milestone for Alex Rodriguez and possibly the Yankees, is A-Rod reaching the 3,000 hit club. The Yankees are not in store to have to shell out a bonus for such an achievement, meaning they may possibly celebrate the player's stats for hits but not for home runs. He would be only the second Yankee, and first in MLB since Yankee Derek Jeter, to join the elite hitters club.
The New York Times has Yankee manager Joe Girardi speaking on both sides regarding 3,000 hits:
"My job is not to decide if something is a milestone, an accomplishment. That's for baseball people to do and historians to do. My hope is that he gets it fairly quickly and those hits keep coming, and home runs keep coming, and he keeps producing."
Do you think the Yankees are doing the right thing by not honoring their contract with A-Rod? Do you feel like Rodriguez doesn't deserve the bonuses after tainting the records with his PED suspension? Tell us what you think.
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