I’m listening to Colin Cowherd yesterday and during his rant of how Lebron disappeared in the Finals he stated that, “the only player I can even think of that compares to this is Alex Rodriguez.” I was confused by this statement but not terribly offended because Cowherd says baseless and stupid things just about daily. It’s kind of his job. Then I started to hear this comparison thrown around elsewhere in the media and by some of my friends, so I decided to write about it. Listen, Alex Rodriguez isn’t anything like Lebron James.
A-Rod struggled in the ALDS in 2006 and the media made a big deal out of it so of course, he’s the only guy we can compare to Lebron. This is an absolutely ridiculous argument. The most valuable player on a baseball team isn’t nearly as important as the most valuable player on a basketball team. That’s just how it is. Baseball is a series of individual match ups at the plate and A-Rod could have hit 400. in that series and the Yankees still would’ve lost because just about EVERYONE on the Yankees struggled in that series. A-Rod was the scapegoat of the series but “Captain Clutch” was even worse and he failed in every big situation.
I never bought this argument that A-Rod isn’t a clutch player because he’s one of the more clutch players in baseball. He hits very well with runners in scoring position, has several walk off hits in his career, and is probably the best bases loaded hitter of all time. Also, remember that time had one of the best post-season performances in baseball history in 2009 that carried the Yankees to a World Series title? Where’s the argument here?
It’s a fallacy to begin with saying A-Rod isn’t clutch and it’s even more ridiculous to suggest that what Lebron went through in the NBA Finals is even remotely the same. Lebron looked like he was going to poop his pants in the 4th quarters during the Finals and A-Rod had big hits and crushed the baseball in the 2009 World Series. Lebron averaged 18 points a game in the Finals after averaging almost 28 during the season. Compare him to the other players who’ve choked in the NBA Finals before you compare him to one of the best baseball players ever who has absolutely no problem hitting in the clutch.
Just because both these players have been over scrutinized by the media doesn’t make them remotely the same. The scrutiny of A-Rod was unfair when it was happening and continues to be unfair if people actually think this guy isn’t clutch. Lebron wasn’t the same player in the Finals and A-Rod put the World Series away with his clutch hitting, again, what’s the comparison here? Really, if you know tell me.
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