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New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez Tearfully Announces Retirement

An emotional goodbye. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez broke down in tears as he announced his retirement during a press conference on Sunday, August 7.

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The three-time MLB MVP will be unconditionally released following his final game at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, August 12. He will take on a role as a special adviser and instructor with the Yankees through December 2017.

“Saying goodbye may be the hardest part of the job, but that’s what I’m doing today,” Rodriguez said during Sunday morning’s press conference as he fought back tears.

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The athlete was recently reduced to a part-time player after hitting a mere .204 this season, according to NBC Sports. Rodriguez is due $21 million in 2017 as he still has one year on the 10-year, $275 million contract he signed after the 2007 season.

A-Rod, who first joined the Yankees in February 2004, was suspended from playing for one year in 2014 following his involvement in a Biogenesis drug scandal.

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Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez at the 2016 Roc Nation Summer Classic Charity Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on July 21, 2016 in New York City.

“I never thought I could play for 22 years,” the designated hitter tearfully said of his long baseball career on Sunday. “At 18, I just wanted to make the team.”

Rodriguez is four home runs shy of a career-total of 700, a feat that only legends Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds have achieved.

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