A-Rod Jerseys Absent From Store At Yankees' Steinbrenner Field
TAMPA, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Alex Rodriguez's jerseys are nowhere to be found at Steinbrenner Field, just like the suspended third baseman.
The Legends Room store at the New York Yankees' spring training home does not have any of Rodriguez's No. 13 jerseys on sale as the team prepares for its exhibition opener next week.
Eight players were represented with white, pinstriped jerseys hanging neatly on rods attached to a wall and available for $139.95 apiece Tuesday. They had the names and numbers of Babe Ruth (3), Mickey Mantle (7), Derek Jeter (2), Ichiro Suzuki (31), Brian McCann (34), Jacoby Ellsbury (22), Carlos Beltran (36) and Masahiro Tanaka (19).
The Yankees said the store manager decides on which jerseys he thinks will be the best sellers, and they said Rodriguez's model had not been available there for several years.
Rodriguez, a three-time AL MVP and baseball's highest-paid player, was suspended for 211 games on Aug. 5 for violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. An arbitrator last month cut the penalty to the 2014 season and postseason.
"We have been informed that Alex Rodriguez has reached the prudent decision to end all of the litigation related to the Biogenesis matter," MLB said in a statement earlier this month. "We believe that Mr. Rodriguez's actions show his desire to return the focus to the play of our great game on the field and to all of the positive attributes and actions of his fellow Major League Players. We share that desire."
His spring training locker adjacent to the back door of the clubhouse has been left vacant, storing only white hangers.
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