I’ll call it surprising and somewhat bizarre, but Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez is playing his final game in pinstripes this Friday night. Apparently it was not his decision. It’ll be to little fanfare (compared to that bestowed upon Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera) and met with many more questions than answers. Why now? is the most obvious, followed perhaps by Huh? and What the hell is a “special advisor”?

Yup, that’s A-Rod’s new role as of Friday night: ambassador, instructor, and special advisor. Whatever’s left of his twenty-seven million this year, and then twenty-seven million next year. Pretty good gig.

As you know I became somewhat of an A-Rod fan the past two seasons. Somehow he had become an underdog following his one-year suspension in 2014 for violating baseball’s PED restrictions. Then being a real punk about its cover-up. Why is it that I hate Barry Bonds but came to terms with A-Rod? Maybe Alex just hung around long enough. Maybe he didn’t break any cherished records. Maybe he played in pinstripes. Regardless, it’s how I came to feel, though no one’s confusing his respect for that of Jeter, Mo, Andy, Jorge, or any other Yankee stars of recent vintage. Truth is I never really thought of A-Rod as a Yankee. Just an overpaid rent-a-player who hung around for 13 years. (Thirteen years… good Lord!)

Perhaps he can rent himself out yet again. Any teams out there want to take a flier on an over-the-hill righty DH? Somehow I’d like to see A-Rod get 700 home runs. He’s not allowed to go past 714, of course, but he deserves 700. Being stuck on 696 would be cruel and unusual punishment, even for him. Miami Marlins, I am looking at you.

One hates to see a career end this way, but I suppose careers have ended worse (injury, death, etc.). Regardless of whether I ever see him play again after this Friday I’ll know that I did see one of the all-time greats, cheater or no cheater. Alex Rodriguez’s story is woven into the checkered tapestry of baseball lore like so many before, and hopefully many more to come. The game needs cliches and characters, of course, and this story is full of both.