Alex Rodriguez

Born: July 27, 1975

Hometown: New York, New York

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Family: Wife, Cynthia; daughter Natasha

Primary position: Third baseman

• Born in New York, his family moved to the Dominican Republic when he was 4, and then to Miami when he was 7.
• Drafted first overall out of Westminster Christian High School in Miami in 1993 at age 17 by the Seattle Mariners.
• He advanced from Single-A to the majors in less than one season. He had 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 65 games at Appleton in 1994, played 17 games at Double-A Jacksonville and hit six home runs in 31 games at Triple-A Calgary. He made his major league debut as Seattle’s starting shortstop at age 18 on July 8, 1994.
• Split the 1995 season between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma.
Career Highlights:
• “A-Rod” broke out as a star at age 20 as the Mariners’ starting shortstop in 1996, winning the AL batting title ( .358). He was picked as an All-Star reserve, and was the youngest All-Star shortstop in history. He finished second to Juan Gonzalez in the American League MVP voting by just three points.
• He set an AL record for home runs by a shortstop with 42 in 1998, a record he surpassed in 2001 (52) and 2002 (57).
• One of only four players to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in one season (1998, 42 HR, 46 SB). Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds and Alfonso Soriano are the others.
• Signed the most lucrative contract in sports history after the 2000 season, signing a 10-year, $252-million deal with the Texas Rangers.
• Averaged 52 home runs per season in three seasons in Texas and won his first American League MVP award following the 2003 season.
• Traded to the New York Yankees on February 16, 2004 for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later. He moved to third base as a Yankee.
• Won his second MVP award following the 2005 season.
• In 2006, he became the second player in history to have at least 35 home runs, 100 runs and 100 RBIs in nine consecutive seasons (Jimmie Foxx is the other).