Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975) is a Dominican American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "A-Rod", he currently plays third base for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
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Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975) is a Dominican American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "A-Rod", he currently plays third base for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
Rodriguez is considered one of the best all–around baseball players of all time. He is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939.
In December 2007, Rodriguez and the Yankees agreed to a 10 year, $275 million contract. This contract was the richest contract in baseball history (breaking his previous record of $252 million).
In February 2009, Rodriguez admitted to using banned substances from 2001 to 2003, citing "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.
Background
Rodriguez was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City to a Dominican family. When he was four, Rodriguez and his parents moved to their native Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Florida. Rodriguez's favorite baseball players when he was growing up were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken. His favorite team growing up was the New York Mets.
High school
Rodriguez was a star shortstop at Miami's Westminster Christian High School. In 100 games he batted .419 with 90 steals. Westminster went on to win the high school national championship in his junior year. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting .505 with 9 home runs, 36 RBI, and 35 steals in 35 tries in 33 games, and was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and as Gatorade's national baseball student athlete of the year. Rodriguez was the first high school player to ever try out for Team USA in 1993, and was regarded as the top prospect in the country.
University of Miami
Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Miami and was also recruited by the university to play quarterback for its football team. Rodriguez turned down Miami's baseball scholarship and never played college baseball, opting instead to sign with the Seattle Mariners after being selected in the first round of the amateur draft at the age of 17. In 2003, Rodriguez gave $3.9 million to the University of Miami to renovate its baseball stadium. The new facility will be named "Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park." Rodriguez remains an ardent University of Miami fan, and can frequently be found at Hurricane sporting events, as well as working out at the school's athletic facilities in the off-season. He received the University of Miami's Edward T. Foote II Alumnus of Distinction Award in 2007. Rodriguez had previously been named an "honorary alumnus" of the university in 2004. He is a member of the University of Miami's Board of Trustees.
