Alex Rodriguez always found ways to enhance his performance as a baseball player, but he doesn’t seem to think iPads are it.
Rodriguez joined WFAN’s midday hosts Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata this week to break down the playoff series between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. And with the Yankees now on the verge of extending their World Series drought after appearing outmatched through two games against the Blue Jays, a common criticism continues to be their over-reliance on analytics.
Since Aaron Boone was hired away from ESPN to join the Yankees in 2018, the perception has been that he’s managing the front office’s game plan more than he’s managing the game. And Rodriguez doesn’t appear to be a supporter of the Yankees or any team relying that much on analytics.
“I think sometimes, the data and analytics teams, they get so involved and so in the weeds,” A-Rod said on WFAN. “You just need to have someone give you six or seven innings, give me a bullpen, give me someone that can catch the ball, some good contact, some good timely hitting, but you gotta get back to playing the game of baseball, teaching the game of baseball, and stop depending on iPads.”
A-Rod must not be expecting an endorsement deal with Apple to come his way anytime soon. If only it were that easy to build a team. Alex Rodriguez is making it sound like teams would rather have an iPad than a starter who can go seven innings.
Teams want durable starters, they want people who can catch the ball and play the game of baseball. Teams want timely hitting, although they don’t really believe in it because analytics doesn’t subscribe to the theory that a player can get hot or cold. But A-Rod is implying MLB teams don’t even try to get good baseball players. They want good baseball players, they just use analytics to help put them in the best position to succeed.
A-Rod deserves some respect for his old school approach. He hit nearly 700 homers without an iPad, although he did find other ways of enhancing his performance. It’s hard to imagine A-Rod wouldn’t have taken information from an iPad, unless that iPad suggested he should be batting eighth in playoff game.
