The 37-year-old Rodriguez has been as much a lightning rod for back-page fodder and the subject of Major League Baseball investigations as he has been a force on the field since joining the Yankees in 2004.

NPR: Hal Steinbrenner Has Been Disappointed In A-Rod

So having been negligent and then indecisive, how did Selig react when someone leaked supposedly confidential test results that in 2003 Alex Rodriguez used two no-no drugs (about which A-Rod--unlike Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens--immediately came clean)?

FORBES: Magazine Article

They made their displeasure public in 2010 when they said they never authorized Rodriguez to be treated by Dr. Anthony Galea, who said he prescribed anti-inflammatories to A-Rod following the first hip operation.

WSJ: Latest A-Rod troubles have team frustrated