New York Yankees to release former MVP Alex Rodriguez from the team

ByReuters

Updated 07/08/2016 at 16:17 GMT

The New York Yankees will release former MVP Alex Rodriguez from his 10-year, $275 million contract that runs through 2017 and he will play his final game with the team on Friday, the team said on Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez

Image credit: Eurosport

Rodriguez, 41 and known as A-Rod, this season is having one of the worst years of his professional career, hitting nine home runs with a batting average of .204. He has 696 home runs in his Major League career, which began with the Seattle Mariners in 1994.

"This is a tough day. I love this game and I love this team," an emotional Rodriguez told a Yankee Stadium news conference. "Saying goodbye may be the hardest part of the job."

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Rodriguez has numbers that rank among the best in baseball history but has also seen his reputation tarnished by performance enhancing drugs. He missed the entire 2014 season due to a doping suspension.

He will be unconditionally released by the club from his player contract in order to sign a contract to serve as a special adviser and instructor with the Yankees through December 31, 2017, the Yankees said in a statement

When asked by a reporter what made him decide to step down nearly three months before the end of the season, Rodriguez said: "That was the Yankees' decision and I am at peace with it."

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