It took a lot of guts for New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez to answer questions from the media Tuesday about his admittance that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

At Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Rodriguez addressed questions on him admitting to using steroids from 2001 to 2003 while at the Texas Rangers.

As I was having my bowl of cereal Tuesday while watching the press conference on ESPN’s SportsCenter, I couldn’t help but notice how brave Rodriguez had to be in order to address the public on such a sensitive issue.

During the question-answer portion of the conference, Rodriguez kept saying he made mistakes and that it was due to being young and immature.

I can understand that, but at the bottom of the issue is that an athlete, whom so many young and old fans looked up to, had help on the field.

Joining him at the press conference were his teammates. At one point, Rodriguez was given the opportunity to say something to his colleagues and the fans.

There was one part of the comment that struck me and, while I’m not a Yankees fan, made me proud to be a supporter of America’s pastime.

He said basically that he was going to help his team have the best season in 2009.

At that point in the interview, I went from “How can anybody support this man?” to “Let’s look past this and play ball.”

I remember when the story broke on Feb. 7 in Sports Illustrated and, to be honest, I wasn’t surprised at all.

We have been dealing with this issue for quite a long time now; even players have had to testify in front of Congress about it.

I am sure A-Rod will get over this when he hits the field for spring training and it will be a distant memory when the first pitch is thrown in the new Yankees stadium on Thurs., April 16, against the Cleveland Indians.

For now, Rodriguez, get prepped and ready for the season you say will be better than recent seasons.

The world will be watching.