Alex Rodriguez

Background

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975, in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood to Dominican immigrants Victor and Lourdes Rodriguez. He was raised alongside two half-siblings from his mother’s previous marriage, Joe and Suzy. His family relocated to the Dominican Republic when he was four years old, then to Miami, Florida. Rodriguez’s childhood heroes included Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken Jr., and his favorite team was the New York Mets. Rodriguez transferred to Westminster Christian School at the end of his freshman year at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he was a star shortstop on the baseball team and quarterback on the football team. In 100 games, he batted .419 and stole 90 bases. In his junior year, Westminster won the high school national championship. As a senior, he was a first-team prep All-American, hitting .505 with nine home runs, 36 R.B.I.s, and 35 stolen bases in 35 attempts in 33 games.

Rodriguez was the first high school player to try out for the United States national baseball team in 1993. He was chosen in the first round of the amateur draft in 1993. Rodriguez chose the Seattle Mariners over the University of Miami as his team. He then made his professional debut in 1994 as a minor leaguer. At 18, he was the youngest player in Major League Baseball. Rodriguez’s first major league hit came on July 9, 1994, when he picked Sergio Valdez. He split time with the Tacoma Rainiers and the Calgary Cannons during the 1995 season. In 1997, he hit 300, with 23 home runs and 84 R.B.I.s. Rodriguez was named Major League Player of the Year by Sporting News and the Associated Press. He was chosen by the fans to start the All-Star Game at shortstop for the A.L. team, making him the first player after Ripken to do so in 13 years.

In 1999, Rodriguez had a .310 average, 42 home runs, and 111 R.B.I.s. His 43.9 power/speed number was the highest single-season power/speed number then. In 2000, he was the youngest-ever player to record 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases. Baseball America named Rodriguez the league’s Major League Player of the Year. He set a career-high with 100 walks and became the first shortstop to have 100 runs, R.B.I.s, and walks in the same season. He signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez won his second Babe Ruth Home Run Award and first Gold Glove Award. He was traded from the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano in 2004. The trade was only the second time in M.L.B. history that a reigning M.V.P. was traded. Rodriguez is one of only two players to compile at least 35 home runs, 100 runs, and 100 R.B.I.s in eight consecutive seasons. His 47 home runs from third base set an American League record for a single season. Rodriguez also scored at least 100 runs for the tenth consecutive season in 2005.