CHICAGO: Embroiled in a doping scandal that has sent shockwaves through Major League Baseball, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was booed and jeered on his comeback from a lengthy hip injury against the Chicago White Sox at Cellular Field yesterday.
Playing his first game of the season after recovering from surgery conducted in January, Rodriguez received little sympathy from fans of either team just hours after the third baseman was handed a 211-game ban for alleged doping offences.
“I’m a little disappointed that he’s able to play tonight,” said Jodi Rudd, 35, a New York Yankees fan, who had traveled from Arizona to watch his team lose 8-1.
Los Angeles resident and Yankees fan Manuel Guerra felt the ban would signal an end to the slugger’s career.
“Major League Baseball is using Alex Rodriguez as an example of what they will not allow,” the 38-year-old said. “I’m his fan, but I think his career is over.”
White Sox fan and Chicago-area resident Rich Modelski, 59, said Rodriguez should have accepted the punishment.
“Everybody else took the suspension but this guy’s hiding behind the fact that he had injuries and that he took these steroids and everything else to get back to playing,” he said yesterday. REUTERS
