>Timberwolves has a fantastic starting players and a strong bench as well,some are even climing that Troy Brown Jr…

Burnt Bridges and Jersey Honors: Alex Rodriguez is Now on the Other Side of the Table.

The legend that was the former player for the Yankees may never be able to escape his tale as a player, but as an owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, he may be able to commemorate Kevin Garnett’s legacy.

 

I have never been to a Minnesota Timberwolves game in Target Center, but I have watched a lot of them here in New York at Barclays Center. I can also tell you that, in contrast to some of my co-fans who are better off financially, I have been living in the Brooklyn Arena’s higher floors, where the food is still not great but the tickets are. However, there’s a wonderful quality up there. Something that the folks in the lower bowl have to squint in order to see is something I see frequently.

Legends that have influenced the squad I’m watching are all over the rafters. One hanging cloth decoration is the culmination of years of service. Not me, but the lower bowl has a better view of the action. I get to witness this team in all its glory. Who put them there is up to me to see. I get to recognize more than one game or lineup iteration. I witness everything.

This explains why the accolade is so significant and uncommon. This explains why the Los Angeles Lakers have the second-most retired jerseys and the Boston Celtics, with their nearly century-long history, have the most. For this reason, it is crucial that the Memphis Grizzlies announce the unique advantage they will be giving Marc Gasol. Memphis, who witnessed the outcasts of Vancouver show up on their doorstep in 2001 and raised them in a way their Canadian counterpart couldn’t.

It matters to retire a jersey. Not to the numbers, not to the history, because those figures and anecdotes still exist, but to the players and all the other players involved.

A controversial yet legendary figure in the sport declared his retirement in 2016. The team that Kevin Garnett played for nearly 13 years was sure to retire his jersey. However, years and years went by. And now here we are. At Target Center’s southern end, the jersey is still not up there. A horrible connection between the franchise owner and a previous star lies at the heart of the drama.

“I wasn’t happy about it.”

“It upsets me, of course.”

“It wasn’t my choice.”

The words of a top player of all time at his position usually don’t sound like this. They should be filled with thank yous and speeches that echo what an achievement their careers truly were. They should be filled with light-hearted jabs, remnants of drama long forgotten, not of scars still unhealed and festering.

The Wolves have been laughed at and called second-rate for situations like these. But those were not the words of a former Wolf. They certainly were not words directed at a franchise the sport world considers sub-par. They were, in fact, directed at a team with 22 jerseys retired, with an all-time winning percentage of 57% with six championships considered at the top of the sports world.

Those words, those pained, half-spoken statements were Alex Rodriguez’s response to the Yankees cementing their choice to not retire A-Rod’s #13 jersey when they handed it to Joey Gallo in 2021.

Rodriguez is a player who deserves votes for the Hall of Fame in addition to retiring his uniform. A-Rod, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners, was dealt to the Texas Rangers, and ultimately ended up wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees, is unquestionably among the all-time greats at shortstop (and third base). At times surpassing my childhood hero and many people’s greatest shortstop of all time, Ken Griffey Jr., Rodriguez is perhaps the greatest rookie shortstop of all time. In 1994, he broke record after record. At eighteen, he was starting at shortstop for a club that was aiming for a title.

We all (hopefully) have seen the Jon Bois document and are aware of A-Rod’s early career. We’re aware of who he was in Seattle, who A-Rod was with the Mariners, and how he got out. What a few of you may not know, or truly understand, is how great of a player he was.Tied for second-most MVPs of all time with three. Second all time in runs scored. Seventh in total bases. Fifth in home runs. Fourth in RBIs. Two Gold Gloves. Fourteen All-Star appearances.

What’s even more insane is he did all of this despite changing positions mid-career and missing two years in the midst of his career.And there it is: the answer to the “why” of the Alex Rodriguez question. In 2013, Rodriguez was handed a huge 211-game suspension for his use of PEDs. After the destruction of the legacy of the greatest player baseball has ever seen with Barry Bonds, A-Rod clearly could not survive the same torrent of defamation.