Don't Bore Us, Scott

Dave Paisley

'Tis the season to go shopping for free agents, and for the first time in a long while, the best, brightest and youngest star in the game is out there testing the free agent waters -- live. Yes, so far it's been the Alex and Scott (Boras) show and it's been anything but boring. From claims by the Mets that Rodriguez wanted Mike Piazza to be his personal pizza delivery boy, to a requirement that Claudia Schiffer hand deliver one pound packages of M&Ms to his locker, it's been a wild ride so far.

OK, I made both of those up, but we all know if the Dodgers offer Rodriguez a movie deal, back to back guest star spots on Boston Public and Ally McBeal and a starring role in the next Madonna video that we won't be surprised. Maybe a little. For instance I'd expect it to be a Brittney Spears video instead, as Madonna's getting a little long in the tooth for Alex. But you get the idea.

The one key difference from just about every other free agent search out there is that Rodriguez is different. Even compared to his two contemporaries, Nomar and Jeter, things are different. Rodriguez has Nomar's bat with Jeter's looks. New York hype machine aside, nobody really believes that Jeter can hold a candle to Rodriguez offensively. And the defensive numbers don't favor Derek either.

So what is the hype? Well, Rodriguez not only has those smooth movie-star looks, he also is likely to be the best shortstop to ever play the game. With three straight forty homer seasons under his belt before he turns 26, he's only one season short of tying Ernie Banks, with a whole lot more to come.

Not only that, he continues to challenge all of the youngest to however many homer records. Next May he'll reach the 200 mark, possibly faster than anyone. Sometime in 2003 he'll pass the 300 mark before he turns 28. All of which says that, barring serious accident or injury, he could eventually challenge Hank Aaron's home run record. Presuming that it isn't Ken Griffey Jr.'s record by then, of course.

Speaking of which, here's a look at the career home run race, featuring many of the prime historical figures, plus Rodriguez, Griffey and McGwire.

If Mark McGwire hadn't had his season cut short, he would have rejoined the career race with Aaron and Ruth at about the same number for his age. His chances of continuing the chase for 755 depend greatly on the skill of his doctors and the liberal interpretation of prescriptions by his pharmacists.

Griffey, despite a horrible year in Cincinnati, still got his forty home runs and continues to be a major factor. Of course, at forty a year it will take him eight years to catch Aaron, but he'll still only be 38, so we all know it's possible.

Rodriguez could blow all that out of the water though, especially if he starts to show his true power as he really hits his stride in his late twenties. Who's to day that 70 in a season is out of the question for him?

So not only are the Braves, Dodgers, Mariners, Rockies, Mets, Reds (ha! just kidding), Rangers and White Sox bidding on a superstar, they're bidding for a piece of baseball history. Or should that be future history?

It's not a well known fact, but Dave Paisley was Zachary Ty Brian's stunt double for that scene in Boston Public where he gets whapped against the lockers by the principal. Just send money for the concussion treatment to drdjp@strikethree.com.

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