“Al’s a very good friend,” said Reggie Jackson of Alex Rodriguez during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. “But I think there are real questions about his numbers. As much as I like him, what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records.”
CHAIN REACTION: After reading Jackson’s comments the NY Yankees told the Hall of Famer, who is paid as a special adviser to the team, to keep his distance for an indefinite amount of time. According to the Associated Press he was told not to travel to Boston last weekend for New York’s four-game series at Fenway Park to avoid becoming a distraction. The Yankees released a statement Thursday from Mr. October.
“In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players,” Jackson said. “This was inappropriate and unfair to those players, some of which are very close friends of mine. I think there are ways to speak from the heart without hurting people, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t take greater care in expressing my views… I have been proactively reaching out to make personal apologies to those within the Hall of Fame community that I offended, and to the Yankees organization for any disruption that I caused in the clubhouse.”
In February 2009, Rodriguez only admitted to using steroids during a three-year stretch after he signed a $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers.