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• Your Rankings: Who is MLB's best player? | Chat: Jerry Crasnick on World Series, 2 ET

A lot of Yankees won their first World Series Wednesday night. CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are first-time champions. Robinson Cano hadn't won a ring. And you don't hear people making a fuss over Brett Gardner. But, yes, Alex Rodriguez is a little different.

Criticized for years as a failure in the clutch, Rodriguez seemed to hit bottom with February's admission that he had used performance-enhancing drugs while with the Rangers. A quick refresher on how SportsNation felt about him at the time.

• 71 percent of SN said the revelation diminished their opinion of A-Rod.
• 67 percent of SN said the revelation put A-Rod's Hall of Fame chances in doubt.
• 48 percent of SN didn't believe A-Rod had been steroid free since 2004.
• 40 percent of SN though the controversy would impact A-Rod's on-field play.

And now? Well, 78 percent of voters think winning the World Series changes Rodriguez's legacy -- and almost a third of voters think it changes it significantly. But which part of 2009 will ultimately have more to do with his place in history?

• "As a Red Sox fan, I have respect for Jeter, Mussina, Rivera, Mattingly, Girardi as they are and were great Yankees players who just do the talking with their bats and their gloves. Those are guys who go out, play, and don't cheat. But A-Rod? I'll never have respect for A-Rod. He is a cheater both on and off the field." -- GeoffCalver
• "I'm glad we don't have to hear that he's a choker anymore, but I can't bring myself to be happy for him. He cheated and ultimately did more harm than good to the game of baseball." -- FearVladimir