A complete player.

5 stars until the proof is beyond a shadow of a doubt. Purple Lips is a prima donna, but there is no question that he has been a great player.

At this point, the only question is whether he goes in on the first ballot or not. I suspect he does, especially now that he has the benefit of playing in the New York spotlight.

Personally, I think the guy is over-rated, but not so much so as to keep him out of Cooperstown.



UPDATE:

Taking the recent steroid allegations into account, he has at least five to eight years left in his career, barring major injury. There are then 5 more years before he's eligible for election. I strongly suspect that the steroid perception for a lot of players will change over time, given how many are implicated and how spotty the evidence of who is "clean." It will become apparent that selectively eliminating people from the Hall on the basis of suspicion is a dubious concept, particularly because the "clean" players are never proven to be "clean." Remember that it was only a few months ago that Rodriguez was hailed as the drug free successor to Bond's tainted home run record. Now, he too is tainted. I do not believe for a moment that all the players who had the bulk of their career between 1988 and 2004 will be kept out of Cooperstown. Rodriguez will go in, but there will be dissenting votes.

I don't know. This morning on CNN they were talking about how Sports Illustrated has proof that Rodgriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. He had been very clean up to this point. Jose Canseco insinuated that he put A-Rod in touch with his supplier but there was no proof and A-Rod simply denied the allogations. But now with the facts SI says they have he could go the likes of McGwire and Bonds, probably never making the Hall.

Not a fan at all. Just a beaseball fan....The guy puts up what some people call "empty numbers" but they are Hall of Fame numbers none the less. Off the field, he may be a lil on the anoying side, and kind of a drama queen, but he has put up rediculous numbers thus far in his career. Assuming he is CLEAN of steroids, like him or hate him he deserves to get in with those offensive stats alone. Even if he retired today

He's still young so he has a lot of career left, then five years after that before he is eligible for the HOF. His only chance right now is if attitudes toward players who tested positive change in the next 20 years or so. I'd say that is possible, but not likely.

He has no chance with the positive Drug test

Obviously. He will probably be named the best player of his generation. He probably should at least. Look at the numbers.

There is no debate here. Barring injury he'll probably end up with over 800 HR's.

Obvious first ballot selection, even if his career ended today.

he gets a 4 because he's a great player and will undoubtedly make the hall of fame. he doesn't get a 5 because i hate him.  but something in me starts to pull for him when the yankee fans boo him for striking out, then cheer like he's the best thing ever if he should get a hit or make a play.

I'm gonna become an A-Rod fan if Bonds get the Homerun record.

First of all, A-rod is a shoe in hall of famer.  Any guy who has an average of .300 or better with 40 + HR's and 120 RBI's every year will obviously make the first ballot he will be on.  This guy will play until he is 40 and produce the same numbers, wherever he is, until the day he hangs the cleats up.  Another huge asset he has working for him is that his name has never been in the steroid talks.

A sure-fire first-ballot player. . .and remember, almost any Yankee gets in anyways. . .


UPDATE - WHOOPS! Positive-drug result! At this point, baseball records are indeed in dispute because we haven't reached the bottom of the barrel concerning how much or how little records have been tainted by steroids. I'll move this opera-singer from five to four.


Voice from the back of the gallery: ("Wot? U changin' ur mind? U cant do dat! Dats FLIP-FLOPPIN'! U cant chage ur mind ever! Evidence? Wots dat? Evidence aint no reason tuh FLIP-FLOP!")

Slam dunk. ARod is the best and most consistent player in the majors for at least the last five seasons. He is the complete package-great hitter and great fielder. he is obviously better defensively than Jeter, but his character is shining through by not complaining about playing 3B.

Yes, done deal regardless of his post season struggles. By the time he is finished, he may have the HR record.

I like him. One of the best all around players in the game today.

I think ARod is a tool, and I hope that he doesn't perform well every time he comes to the plate. However, despite the pressure that is on him to perform, he still comes in every year and has numbers that are among the lead leaders in the triple crown stats. He has a chance to set some huge records if he continues to play at a high level, and he will most likely be a first ballot type of guy when all is done.