Former New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez was one of the most polarizing figures in the history of baseball. As a result, “A-Rod” hasn't received the same type of flowers that some of his peers have.

Rodriguez walked through Yankee Stadium's Monument Park with David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and commentator Kevin Burkhardt on Saturday, and he had an unexpected interaction with Ortiz, via FOX Sports.

Ortiz asked Rodriguez when the Yankees would finally retire his number 13, and Rodriguez joked “Papi, you have a better chance of getting your number retired here than I do,”

“Ouch,” Burkhardt responded.

Despite being one of the best players in New York's storied history, A-Rod was never the most popular figure in the city. For him to make that joke to Ortiz, a legendary Boston Red Sock, speaks volumes about how little faith he has in the organization to honor his legacy.

Does A-Rod deserve to get his number installed in Monument Park, or should he leave the topic alone?

Rodriguez belongs in a different category than non-steroid using Yankees

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at Yankee Stadium in 2004.
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Rodriguez was one of many sluggers who used performance-enhancing drugs during the Steroid Era. However, the Miami native took it further and kept juicing long after it stopped being acceptable in the baseball world.

Rodriguez initially claimed that he only used PEDs during his tenure with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, before the league instituted regular testing and bans for PED users. However, the 14-time All-Star was a part of the Biogenesis scandal in 2013, when medical documents leaked a list of prominent MLB players (including A-Rod) that used human growth hormone from a former rejuvenation clinic named Biogenesis of America around that time. As a result, he was suspended for the entire 2014 season, and his legacy would never be the same.

Nobody can take A-Rod's accomplishments away from him as a Yankee. He was a centerpiece of the 2009 championship team and also mashed 351 homers with 1,096 RBI for the club. That doesn't happen without immense talent and commitment to the game. However, it's not fair to group him with Jeter and all the other New York legends who did it without any foreign substances.

To A-Rod's credit, he's taken the high road on the situation, via the New York Post's Zach Braziller.

“I would love that – that would be a dream come true,” Rodriguez said of the Yankees possibly retiring his number. “But that’s Hal Steinbrenner’s and Randy Levine’s decision. If they say it’s a good thing, I’ll be the first one there. If not, I’ll still love the Yankees and support the Yankees and hope they win a championship this year.”

A-Rod's legacy should serve as a lesson to modern-day stars like Fernando Tatis. Nobody can take away their talent, but they'll never be remembered the same way once they've been put in the “steroid user” bucket. Although the Steroid Era was good for the MLB at the time, it's a new era, and the game has evolved past the point of depending on cartoonish home runs for ticket sales.