What a Difference a Year Makes For A-Rod

Remember last spring, when A-Rod had his steroid press conference and broke down while thanking his teammates for sticking by and supporting him? Well, last night he got choked up again, but this time it was for winning the Babe Ruth Award as the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America's postseason MVP. The award was presented by Babe Ruth's granddaughter.

Here's more from the AP:

Alex Rodriguez looked at the award he just received from Babe Ruth's granddaughter with big eyes and a broad grin. It was as if he almost couldn't believe it was his.

"Postseason MVP. Wow," Rodriguez said Saturday night. Pausing for effect he added, "What's next, the good guy award?"

...

And after he told fans at the dinner that "he'd stick to the script of 2009 and keep it very, very brief," he choked up, taking a long pause -- save for a nervous laugh -- to look down at the podium and smile awkwardly.

Unlike the extended pause he took during his steroids news conference, this one was broken when an attendee -- the dinner was crowded with Yankees fans -- shouted, "You're the best, A-Rod!"

...

"I've been to these dinners a couple of times to receive MVP awards and those, I'm very proud of those accomplishments," he said. "But none of those accomplishments will ever compare to the feeling you get from being part of a team that won a world championship. Like Albert [Pujols] said there's nothing like winning a World championship."

If you told me a year ago that A-Rod was going to go from disgraced superstar being outed for steroid use to winning a postseason MVP award and a ring I would have said you were crazy.

Derek Jeter also received two awards, the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town Award, and shared the Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award with teammates Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. However, the Captain was not on hand to receive the awards.