A-Rod speaks for first time since suspension, says it “could be a big favor” from MLB

For the first time since his record 162-game suspension was handed down, Alex Rodriguez spoke publicly on Wednesday. He spoke with the media in Spanish at the opening of his Alex Rodriguez Energy Fitness Center in Mexico City and sounded like someone who is starting to accept the reality of his situation. Here’s are the quotes, courtesy of Josh Egerman:

“I think that the year 2014 could be a big favor that [Major League Baseball has] done for me because I’ve been playing for 20 years without a timeout,” he said. “I think 2014 is a good year to rest mentally and physically and prepare for the future and begin a new chapter in my life.”

…

“I have three years left on my contract starting in 2015 and I hope to play very well and finish my career in New York,” he said

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“[To] tell the truth, it’s a very sad situation and we hope to get this out of every newspaper and start concentrating on all the good things that MLB is doing and the great things that young ballplayers are doing and move forward,” he said.

A-Rod did not mention performance-enhancing drugs at all, but he did say he has received support “not just from my Yankees teammates, but also players from other teams, retired players, Hall of Fame players and lots of good people, owners of other teams.”

Does this mean A-Rod and his legal team will drop their various lawsuits? I don’t know. I can’t imagine it helps his case that he came out and said he’s looking forward to taking a year off. I also wonder if he simply got some bad advice from his lawyers. Maybe he wasn’t fully behind pushing the case to federal court but took the word of the people he hired. Either way, it sounds like Alex is starting to understand how unlikely getting the suspension overturned is.

Update: Through his spokesman, A-Rod said he will continue to fight the suspension in federal court. “This process has been taxing both mentally and physically throughout the past eight months,” said Ron Berkowitz said in a statement. “Alex will abide by the rulings of the federal judge — whatever he decides — and get ready for 2015 should the judge rule against him. He will continue to move forward with his complaint which will help all players against this unfair system.”