Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. Rodriguez is the chairman and chief executive officer of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of Presidente beer. He owns a controlling interest in the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves with Marc Lore. Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects, and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
With a career.295 batting average, Rodriguez amassed over 600 home runs, over 2,000 runs batted in, over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats. He was also a 14-time All-Star, winning three American League Most Valuable Player Awards, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards. Rodriguez is also the career record holder for grand slams. During the 2000s decade, Rodriguez led all players in home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, and total bases. Rodriguez is ranked first in career wins above replacement for shortstops of the modern era.
The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft, and he debuted in the major leagues the following year at the age of 18. In 1996, he became the Mariners' starting shortstop, won the major league batting title, and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. His combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, but he left the team via free agency after the 2000 season to join the Rangers. The 10-year, $252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history at the time. He played at a high level in his three years with Texas, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003, but the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure. Before the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, for whom he converted to a third baseman to accommodate their shortstop Derek Jeter. He was named AL MVP in 2005 and 2007. He opted out of his contract after the 2007 season, then signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees, breaking his own record for the sport's most lucrative contract. He became the youngest player to hit 500 home runs, reaching the milestone in 2007. He helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, which was Rodriguez's only championship title. Toward the end of his career, he was hampered by hip and knee injuries, which caused him to become exclusively a designated hitter. He played his final game in professional baseball on August 12, 2016.
Despite denying in a 2007 interview that he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to having used steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Rangers due to "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform. While recovering from a hip injury in 2013, Rodriguez made headlines by feuding with team management over his rehabilitation and for having allegedly obtained performance-enhancing drugs as part of the Biogenesis scandal. In August 2013, MLB announced a 211-game suspension for Rodriguez for his involvement in the scandal. After an arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, which kept him off the field for the entire 2014 season.
After retiring as a player, Rodriguez became a media personality, serving as a broadcaster for Fox Sports 1, a cast member of Shark Tank and a member of the ABC News network. In January 2018, ESPN announced that Rodriguez would be joining the broadcast team of Sunday Night Baseball. In January 2017, CNBC announced Rodriguez would be the host of the show Back in the Game, where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives; the first episode debuted on the network in March 2018.
Early life
Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan to Dominican immigrants Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Marcano and Lourdes Nelly Navarro Melo from San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. He was raised alongside his two half-siblings, Joe and Suzy, from his mother's first marriage. In 1979, when he was four years old, the family moved to the Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Florida, when he was in the fourth grade. His father played baseball for a team in the Dominican Republic and introduced him to the sport as a child. Growing up, Rodriguez's favorite baseball players were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken Jr., and his favorite team was the New York Mets.At the end of his freshman year at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Rodriguez transferred to Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where he was a star shortstop on the baseball team and played quarterback on the football team. In 100 games he batted.419 with 90 stolen bases. Westminster won the high school national championship in his junior year. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting.505 with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in, and 35 stolen bases in 35 attempts in 33 games. He was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and as Gatorade's national baseball student-athlete of the year. In 1993, Rodriguez became the first high school player to try out for the United States national baseball team. He was regarded as the top prospect in the country.
Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play baseball for University of Miami and was also recruited by Miami to play quarterback for its football team. Rodriguez turned down the University of Miami baseball scholarship offer and never played college baseball, opting instead to sign with the Seattle Mariners after being selected first overall in the 1993 amateur draft at the age of 17.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
The Seattle Mariners selected Rodriguez with the first overall selection of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. The Mariners signed him to a three-year contract worth $1.3 million, and a $1 million signing bonus.Seattle Mariners
1994–1995
In 1994, Rodriguez made his professional baseball debut as a minor league player with the Appleton Foxes of the Class A Midwest League. He was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern League. He played in 17 games for Jacksonville, then was promoted to Calgary for 32 games before moving up to the major leagues. On July 8, 1994, Rodriguez debuted in the major leagues as a starting shortstop, just the third 18-year-old major league shortstop since 1900. He was also the first 18-year-old major league player since 1978 and the youngest position player in Seattle history. He remains the last 18-year-old to play in an MLB game, as of the end of the 2024 season. Rodriguez recorded his first major league hit when he singled off of Sergio Valdez on July 9 at Fenway Park. Rodriguez played in 17 games for the Mariners, compiling a.204 batting average, two RBIs, and three stolen bases. In August, The Mariners optioned Rodriguez to the Calgary Cannons of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. In 32 games for Calgary, he had 37 hits in 119 at-bats for a.311 batting average. He also compiled six home runs and 21 RBIs.Rodriguez split most of the 1995 season between the Mariners and the Tacoma Rainiers of the PCL. He hit his first major league home run off Kansas City's Tom Gordon on June 12. Rodriguez permanently joined the Mariners roster in August and got his first taste of postseason play, albeit just two at-bats. Again, he was the youngest player in Major League Baseball. During the 1995 season, Rodriguez played 48 games for Seattle, batting.232 with five home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases.
1996–1997
The following year, Rodriguez took over as the Mariners' regular shortstop and had his breakout season. He led the American League with a.358 batting average, the highest for an AL right-handed batter since Joe DiMaggio hit.381 in 1939 and the third-highest ever for a shortstop. He also had 36 home runs with 123 RBIs. At 21 years and one month, he was the 3rd youngest AL batting leader ever behind Al Kaline in 1955 and Ty Cobb in 1907, and the third-youngest player in history with 35+ homers. He was also the first major league shortstop to win a batting title since 1960, and the first in the AL since 1944. At age 20 years, 11 months, he was the youngest shortstop in All-Star Game history. He also led the AL in runs, total bases, and doubles and ranked among the league leaders in base hits, extra-base hits, multi-hit games, slugging, RBI, and on-base percentage. Rodriguez posted the highest totals ever for a shortstop in runs, hits, doubles, extra-base hits, and slugging, and tied most total bases, and established Seattle club records for average, runs, hits, doubles, and total bases, in a season that statistical analysts consider the best ever by a shortstop.The Sporting News and Associated Press selected Rodriguez as their Major League Player of the Year. He finished second to Juan González in balloting for the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He finished three points behind González, matching the second closest AL MVP voting in history.
In 1997, Rodriguez batted.300 with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. He hit for the cycle on June 5, becoming the second Mariner, and at 21 years, 10 months, the fifth-youngest player in history, to accomplish the feat. He was the fan's choice to start the All-Star Game at shortstop for the AL team, becoming the first player other than Ripken to start at shortstop in 13 years. It was the first All-Star start of his career and his second All-Star Game in two years.
1998–2000
Rodriguez rebounded in 1998, when he set the AL record for homers by a shortstop and became just the third member of the 40–40 club, and one of just 3 shortstops in history to hit 40 home runs in a season. His 43.9 Power-speed number was, through at least 2008, the highest single season Power/Speed Number ever. He was selected as Players Choice AL Player of the Year, won his second Silver Slugger Award, and finished ninth in the MVP voting.In 1999, Rodriguez had a.310 average, 42 home runs, and 111 RBIs, despite missing over 30 games with an injury and playing the second half of the season at Safeco Field, a considerably less hitter-friendly ballpark than the Kingdome. At the time, he was the youngest-ever player to record 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases, at 23 years and 309 days of age. In April 2015, Mike Trout reached the same milestone at 23 years and 253 days old.
Rodriguez entered 2000 as the cornerstone player of the Mariners franchise, which had recently traded superstars Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. Rodriguez put up great numbers, hitting 41 home runs with 132 RBIs and a.316 batting average. He set a career high for walks and became the only shortstop to have 100 runs, RBI, and walks in the same season. He hit well in the playoffs as well, but Seattle lost to the New York Yankees in the 2000 American League Championship Series. He was selected as the Major League Player of the Year by Baseball America and finished third in the AL MVP voting.