Position players are not scheduled to report to Spring Training until Wednesday, but Alex Rodriguez reported to camp today, making it his first day around the Yankees since the end of the 2013 season. A-Rod arrived at the complex this morning, took his physical, and worked out on a minor league field. Players can’t work out on the main field until reporting day.
As part of his workout, A-Rod ran sprints, threw a medicine ball around, fielded ground balls at third base and shortstop, and took batting practice. Pretty much a typical early spring workout. Multiple reporters say he took 71 swings during batting practice and hit six balls over the fence, which means less than nothing but will surely be made into something.
After the workout, Alex signed autographs for a horde of fans and spoke to the media for a few minutes. It was his first time taking questions since being suspended last year. Alex didn’t say a whole lot, but here’s a summary of the main points, courtesy of Jon Heyman, Dan Barbarisi, Jeff Passan, Bob Nightengale, Brendan Kuty, and Adam Berry:
- On the suspension: “No mistake that I’ve made has any good answer, no justification. It’s unexplainable, and that’s on me. I’ve paid a price personally and professionally … I’m moving on and focused on 2015.”
- Does Alex feel welcome? “Surprisingly so.” Are other Yankees comfortable around him? “I don’t know. You’ve got to ask them. But I’ve created a big headache for a lot of people,” he added.
- A-Rod said he will work out at first base or any other position this spring if the team asks. “I’m willing to try anything (Joe Girardi) wants me to try,” he said.
- Is he secretly plotting to kill or maim new starting third baseman Chase Headley? “Chase is an excellent addition to our team.”
- And finally, Rodriguez gave a flat “no” when asked if he was on any performance-enhancing drugs at the moment.
All things considered, A-Rod’s first day of camp was not as hectic as I expected. I thought he would say something controversial, for example. The media was watching him like a hawk — following all of this in real time on Twitter was a hoot, we were getting play-by-play of his medicine ball throws — but that was to be expected.
No word on whether A-Rod will return to the complex tomorrow but I wouldn’t be surprised if he took the day off. It’ll be his last day off for a while with position players set to report on Wednesday. Either way, Alex is back with the Yankees. He took his physical, got his first workout in, and that was that. Day One is complete.
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