Alex Rodriguez 'would walk' to Cincinnati to play in the All-Star Game

Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez wants to return to the All-Star Game so badly, he says he'd walk there.

Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez wants to return to the All-Star Game so badly, he says he'd walk there.

Rodriguez, a fourteen-time All-Star, is hitting .280 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI for New York this season as he nears his 40th birthday in July. He missed the entire 2014 season after being suspended for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy.

As ESPN's Andrew Marchand reports, though Rodriguez "doesn't buy it would validate his comeback" to return to the midsummer classic on July 14, he's certainly compelled to make it there. He likened his desire to that of Richard Albero, a 65-year-old Yankees fan who notably walked 1,200 miles from Tampa, Fl. to Yankee Stadium this season to benefit the Wounded Warrior project.

"I would walk there, like the guy who walked to Yankee Stadium," Rodriguez told ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews. "I would walk to Cincinnati."

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Rodriguez has fallen far behind in the fan vote at DH. His numbers hold up against other American League standouts, but he will likely have to be voted in by the players, selected by AL manager Ned Yost, or be placed on the Final Five ballot, which would allow fans to vote him into the game online.

"From where I came from just a year ago, I mean it’s every player’s dream to make the All-Star Game," Rodriguez said of the event. "I’m not exception to that. Especially with all that I’ve been through, to be able to be included in something like that, it would be incredibly special."

- Jeremy Woo