Minnesotans have gotten used to accepting Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Alex Rodriguez as a buttoned-up exec, willing to hang just outside the spotlight.
“Alex vs. ARod,” a three-part documentary that clocks in at over 200 minutes, takes us back to his bad-boy days, but not without lots of explanations and excuses. The Wolves public relations department couldn’t ask for more positive propaganda.
The first installment, now streaming on HBO Max (new episodes premiere at 8 p.m. Thursdays on HBO), barely mentions his divisive ego and seasonlong ban because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Instead, the focus is on his obsession with baseball and how the weight of the world fell on his shoulders when he started playing in the major leagues at the tender age of 18.
Directors Gotham Chopra and Erik LeDrew want viewers to believe that his shortcomings were due largely to high expectations and the fact that his father deserted the family when Rodriguez was only 10.
Rodriguez’s stake in Minnesota teams is barely mentioned in the film, but it does dedicate considerable time to the short-lived reunion the then-Seattle Mariner and his dad had during a 2000 road trip to the Metrodome.
“It was probably the best four games of my career,” says Rodriguez, who is so subdued and reflective in fresh interviews that you might not notice the numerous obscenities. “I just put on a show for four days. It was phenomenal.”
It’s not until the end of part two that the film starts digging into the drug use and subsequent attempts at deception. Rodriguez, as he has for many years, is contrite and apologetic.
