Alex Rodriguez believes HBO doc lessens his Hall of Fame chances

Alex Rodriguez might still dream of being a Hall of Famer, but he’s come to grips with the fact that he’ll never have a plaque in Cooperstown.

As episode one of the three-part series Alex vs ARod premiered on HBO this week, Rodriguez has been on a wide-ranging media tour to promote the documentary. And during his stop with NBC’s Today, Craig Melvin asked Rodriguez whether part of the motivation behind the docuseries was being able to use it as a campaign to get into the Hall of Fame. Rodriguez, however, believes the docuseries is more likely to have the opposite effect.

“That’s totally fair,” Rodriguez said of Melvin’s question before refuting it. “I would go the other way, now that you saw it, I’m definitely not going in the Hall of Fame. I knew the rules, I broke the rules, and if that’s the penalty, that’s completely on me.”

Rodriguez was one of the best players in Major League Baseball history, winning a World Series, three MVP awards and amassing nearly 700 home runs. But his career was marred by decisions that made him a lightning rod for controversy and turned himself against fanbases. With multiple performance enhancing drug admissions, a season-long suspension and a lawsuit against Major League Baseball, Rodriguez ruined what previously seemed like a career destined for the Hall of Fame. And he only has himself to blame.

But during the interview with NBC, Rodriguez went on to call his season-long suspension a “gift” because it allowed him to meet his late therapist, Dr. David. And because he credits Dr. David with saving his life, Rodriguez has said he’s in a better place with his family and mental health now than he would have been if he was never caught with PEDs.

“If I never got into that trouble, I would be unhappy, still under a lot of pain, and I would be a Hall of Famer, but it would be quite hollow,” Rodriguez told Michael Kay this week during another stop on his promotional tour.

Rodriguez seems unlikely to get into the Hall of Fame with or without this documentary. As Rodriguez previously noted, the HBO profile is a story about a flawed person. It highlights his mistakes, it doesn’t mask them. But even though he probably won’t end up with a plaque in Cooperstown, it remains a win for Rodriguez that he was able to become an ambassador for MLB after previously having what looked to be an irreparable relationship with the league.