A-Rod says he’s finally in a New York state of mind…

Alex Rodriguez is at peace with himself and New York. Whether he opts out or not, A-Rod has earned his Pinstripes.

“It took me a while to kind of get used to New York a little bit. I kept banging my head into the wall for three years, and after a while I stopped,” the Yankees All-Star third baseman said yesterday. “At this point I’m at peace with myself.”

Asked what he meant by banging his head against the wall, Rodriguez said, “It takes people a year or two years to get used to New York. For me, it’s taken three or four years. You tried things one way and then you figure out this way is a little more comfortable.
“You can always live and learn. Next year hopefully I learn from this year. You’re always going to make mistakes, I think part of it is acknowledging your mistakes and moving forward and being a little bit more honest with yourself and with people that cover you on a daily basis. That’s part of the recipe.’’

Now that he has learned to live with New York, would it be difficult to leave?
“I love New York and I’ve always said that,” he noted. “I know there is a lot speculation going on, but New York is a special place. I think it brings out the best in you and again, it’s taken me three years, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve struggled, I’ve struggled with you guys, I’ve struggled on the field, but I’m in a good place right now.”

A-Rod said he has no regrets about New York. Mr. Back and Front Page is learning do deal with it all. And the key is doing it his way.

“New York brings out the best in you,’’ he said. “If you are able to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself, I think (New York) makes you better.

What feels great is coming up to the plate now and getting cheered by the New York fans, that feels really cool,” Rodriguez said. A-Rod hears you. He loves the cheers, especially since it’s been hard for him to earn them from the Yankees crowd.

“You just feel you are going to do something well because they’re expecting it, you’re expecting it,” he said of those cheers.

“It takes time in New York, nothing comes easy. New York is not just going to hand you the reins without you earning it. I still have work to do. I’m enjoying the work, but one thing, through good or bad, I never sat here and complained and cried and wanted out. I had many opportunities where I could have gone many places and I constantly told the team, the city, you guys that I wanted to stay and I stick by that.”

A-Rod did not run and hide. He made himself a better ballplayer.

“I can’t control what people think, what people write, all I can control is what I do, I figure my best answer is playing good baseball and doing it on the field and not really concern myself with what people are saying or writing,” he said.

“I’ve had situations this year that I probably would have tried to explain myself, and try to be honest, and figure out this or that, you just figure out that is not the way to go. The way to go is to go out and play baseball and kind of put this in a box over here, deal with it and move forward. There’s no need to explain myself to any of you guys, that’s been a big key for me.”
So, can he play this game for another 10 years, putting up with everything while putting up incredible numbers? “That’s a good question,” he said. “I don’t know.”