Cheater. Deceiver. Fraud. Just some of the words that can be associated with New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez over the last eight years or so. Rodriguez has been an absolute lightning rod in the media, between his past steroid allegations, and what has gone on between him and the Yankees. But he's finally back on the field, and doing what he loves.

Let's flashback to where it all began in 2007. In an interview between Rodriguez and Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, A-Rod stood "strong" and told the nation that he had never used Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), at anytime in his career. However, that statement was proven false two years later, when Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was listed on the Mitchell Report. A-Rod then only took 48 hours to speak out, admit his wrong doing, and come forward about his failed drug test in 2004. 

Rodriguez played the next few years for the Yankees without much trouble, but then he suffered a hip injury, and legal procedures began to set in. In August of 2013, Major League Baseball brought down the hammer on Rodriguez and gave him a 211-game suspension, which would eventually be brought down to the entire 2014 season due to an appeal. A-Rod tried to beat a dead horse with his lies, but no one was buying his story anymore. 

Now let’s jump ahead to May 1st, 2015. The Yankees are up in Boston taking on the Red Sox. Alex Rodriguez's name isn't in the starting lineup, but this writer is sure he is one of the first players off the bench for manager Joe Girardi. On a normal day, it wouldn’t matter too much where Rodriguez is batting, but any of his next at-bats could be historic. A-Rod is currently one home run away from tying Willie Mays for 4th place on the All-Time Home Runs list, and the record breaker could come at any moment. 

The Yankees and Red Sox are tied at two in the top of the 8th, and Girardi looks down his bench in order to find a pinch hitter for lefty Garrett Jones. Who else, but Alex Rodriguez. As Rodriguez is announced, he walks up to the plate while hearing the usual chorus of boos from the Fenway Faithful. Looking determined to make an impact on this game, Rodriguez is carefully pitched to by Boston reliever, Junichi Tazawa. The first three pitches thrown are balls, and it’s all but certain that A-Rod is set to take the next pitch. Unfortunately for Tazawa, he didn’t. A-Rod took a juicy cut at the next pitch, and smacked it over the Green Monster. With that home run, Rodriguez did not only give the Yankees a 3-2 lead, but he tied the great Willie Mays for 4th on the All-Time Home Runs list. 

That was a milestone moment for Rodriguez, as he was pumped up running around the bases, but his emotions got the better of him when the ball game was over. It was nice to see, because whether you hate him or not, Rodriguez has been down one of the longest roads a professional athlete can travel. And yes, it was all because of his own choices, but he is still a human being like the rest of us, and you could tell how special of a moment it was. 

Fast forward again to today, May 27th, 2015. It’s a beautiful day at The Stadium as the Kansas City Royals are finishing up their three game set with the Yankees. Rodriguez, who is already 0-for-1 on the day, steps up in the bottom of the third with runners on first and second. ARod calmly looked at the first pitch of the at-bat, and prepared himself for the next. Chris Young, the Royals’ starter on Wednesday, tried to sneak a change-up by Rodriguez down in the zone. However, A-Rod was all over it. Rodriguez lunged at the low pitch a little, but he was able to get the sweet spot of the bat on it and poked it right over the left field fence. With that three-run homer, Rodriguez passed Lou Gehrig on the All-Time Runs Batted In list, and is now in sole possession of third place (depending on who you ask). 

Like home run number 660, this was another great moment in the tainted, yet historic career of Alex Rodriguez. Despite all of the lies, and PED use, Rodriguez is still an outstanding player, and one of the best hitters of this generation, if not all-time. So through all of his issues on and off the field, here's to you, Alex Rodriguez. Congrats on another amazing milestone.