Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is finally playing hero in the post-season. That whole notion of A-Rod-can't-hit-in-the-clutch seems but a distant dream this October. Ditto for the steroid revelations that dominated sports pages this off-season and Spring Training. But Miamian Yuri Sucart, his cousin and right-hand man made infamous for his role in A-Rod's 'roid use, might still be dealing with the consequences. After being barred from MLB facilities, Sucart has hit some serious financial straits: His Kendall home is in the midst of foreclosure.
For about a week in February, after it was exposed that he provided Rodriguez with Dominican-bought steroids, 46-year-old Sucart became the national sports media's most-chased figure. ESPN.com devoted 3,000 words to the man, "who was more like an older brother" to the superstar. Reporters camped outside his home, interviewed his cocker spaniel, and described his A-Rod-dependent financial situation. From the ESPN.com article:
It's unclear what Sucart's exact income is or has been, but friends say his compensation couldn't be much. Sucart always seems, according to one friend, to "just be getting by." The one-story house Sucart owns in South Miami-Dade sits on a beautiful estate, but from the street, it looks to be in rugged shape. Friends say the house is "a dump."
For a time, Sucart tried finding alternate sources of income. He worked informally as an agent, getting cleats and gloves for a few Hispanic players. Sources said he hoped the players would hire him if they ever made it big, but that didn't come to fruition, and neither did an attempt to become a partner in a small sports agency. Sucart also bought a few properties in Miami and became a landlord, but the income generated from those purchases hasn't seemed to be the financial boon he'd envisioned.
Soon after he was implicated in the scandal, Sucart was banned from all MLB facilities -- a devastating career blow to a professional right-hand man. And on August 12, US Bank began foreclosure proceedings, which are continuing, on the SW 94th Street home he and his wife Carmen purchased in June 2006. The 1,300-square-foot house sits on almost an acre. According to a claim made in Miami-Dade Court, the Sucarts owe $538,266.24 on the property they originally purchased for $675,000.
The Sucarts, who have two children, are notoriously media-shy and did not immediately return a message left by Riptide at their home.
If you're wondering, the money owed on the mortgage represents less than three games' salary for A-Rod, who made $33 million this season. So we gotta ask: Where's the big-money cousin now?
