TAMPA — So first you have to understand how the crowds used to be when this place was called Legends Field and the Yankees were akin to the biggest rock band in the world, and the place would swell on the first day of the full-squad workouts, the noise rising and rising for one star after another.
That was then, this is now at Steinbrenner Field. Where a few hundred sit and the volume is set at an acceptable level for a library. Players emerge on the field and the reception — if there is a reception at all — lacks passion. This place has all the ambience and energy of a restaurant during an early-bird special.
Not much past noon, a group of cameramen rush to the fence protecting the first-base dugout and without even being able to see who is garnering the attention, the crowd projects a different sound and feeling. A bunch of “A-Rod” yells are screamed out and a few minutes later, when Alex Rodriguez goes to take batting practice on the main field for the first time this spring, the fans vote with their vigor and voice what a difference a year makes.
Twelve months ago there were discussions whether A-Rod would actually get waived before the season, if he were kept if he had anything left, if fans would tolerate his existence much less ever applaud him again and if a member of the Yankees front office or roster would have meaningful dialogue with him.
Let’s put it this way, if asked 12 months ago which of these were more unlikely would you vote for:
A) Donald Trump as the Republican presidential front-runner, or
B) A-Rod as not just the most popular Yankee, but one whose counsel is sought by players and the front office, and whose behavior is praised by the commissioner who prosecuted his suspension, and whose work on TV during the postseason was universally praised.
“2015 for me was a Cinderella season,” Rodriguez said Thursday following the Yankees’ first full-squad workout.
Actually, that does not do it justice. Cinderella is a fairy tale. Rodriguez really did somehow get from there to here in real life. And it does feel like we have to recap “there” because the transformation has been so stunning. Rodriguez was suspended for the 2014 season for his involvement with Biogenesis. He had initially gone scorched earth against the Commissioner’s Office and the Yankee front office to a point where neither entity wanted to see him again. Yankee officials would not even speak with him one-on-one, so concerned were they about how he might purposefully misstate their intentions. He was the most hated man in baseball.
His reentry last year was detailed down to trying to glean information from batting practice whether he still had anything left after a year away, working on two surgically fixed hips, in a season when he would turn 40 and with wonder if Rodriguez could succeed clean (if he even was clean).
Of course, the most important thing he did was succeed on the field. Home fans for the most part have decided they will tolerate just about any abhorrent behavior as long as the players perform well, and Rodriguez was quickly the No. 3 hitter again en route to 33 homers.
But this version of Rodriguez — always a lover of the game and willing mentor — became even more enmeshed as a leader in a harmonious Yankees clubhouse. He tutored guys such as Didi Gregorius and Nathan Eovaldi so well, an organization that 12 months ago loathed Rodriguez obtained talented players yet to fully honor their skills such as Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks because it could not wait to have them come under the influence of Rodriguez.
“I’m in a good place,” Rodriguez said.
Look, he has disappointed so many so often before that it would be silly to completely embrace Rodriguez. As even he said, “I made big mistakes and that is never going away.” He described himself as still “at first base” in his atonement.
Maybe he is conning everyone again, perhaps he has just learned to stick better to talking points about loving his teammates and the Yankees and the fans, and reveling in the day-to-day joys of preparation and the game. But if he is, man, they are handing out Oscars on the other coast this weekend.
This version of A-Rod does seem so much less burdened by demons and greed and ego and insecurity and all the other ingredients that turned him to chemicals and the selfish behavior that undermined baseball greatness.
“Last year was a very rewarding year because I enjoyed every facet of the year,” Rodriguez said.
Owing to how well he handled himself — on and off the field — there is not nearly the scrutiny nor animus directed toward him this year. Still at a time when the Mets are taking over New York — when the size and energy of their spring crowds express the changeover — the Yankees suddenly need the star power and hitting power of their, gulp, most popular player more than ever.
From outcast to indispensable. What a difference a year makes.