A-Rod Chats With Kim Jones

Alex Rodriguez is coming off what had to have been not only his most rocky season as a big leaguer, but in the end probably his most satisfying. Wednesday he spoke about that season with the YES network's Kim Jones.

"I think I grew up a lot, both on and off the field," Rodriguez told the YES Network's Kimberly Jones for the Yankees Hot Stove show. "Staring at retirement right in the face, kind of like Bo Jackson -- that's the first thing I thought of.

"... It was a commitment that I wanted to do for the team, and it was very scary. I knew I was putting the rest of my career at risk, but I felt that with the team at hand, it was a risk worth taking."

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"Overall, it was an adventurous year, but I'm glad's behind me now and we get a chance to continue to build on the positives," Rodriguez said.

I doubt there was any real chance he was going to retire, but we all know how pro athletes are when they suffer their first major injury.

He also said he was relieved to get rid of that whole "can't get a hit in the playoffs" stigma.

"It was good because I was so tired of hearing that," Rodriguez said. "I mean, it was exhausting, to be honest with you. It was so frustrating to go in every postseason with all the expectations and ambitions to do well, and three, four games [later] and we were right back in Miami and to our [respective] homes. It was frustrating, painful.

"For me, I was just so tired of the whole 'unclutch' thing. It was just very annoying, but to come over and be part of a championship team and get some of the biggest hits of my career and to deliver for my teammates when they needed me, that certainly feels really good and I'm very relieved."

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"I've made plenty of mistakes in the past and stood up to them," Rodriguez said. "I think I've learned from them and I think I've grown a lot. It just makes me appreciate being a part of a great team, a great organization.

"Having my teammates and coaches and the organization always standing by me is something that I'm very grateful for, and I look forward to leading this team to more championships, because I think we have a team that can do that."

You can listen to the entire interview here. One thing I noticed was how relaxed he seemed, something we've only seen from A-Rod for maybe half a season, a half where he hit a ton. I expect big things from A-Rod in 2010, who now can finally just play baseball, no steroids talk, no unclutch talk, just baseball. Watch out American League.