Alex Rodriguez: one of the finest players baseball has produced – Part 1
Any baseball discussion is incomplete without mentioning the name of Alex Rodriguez. One of the finest players that the game has ever produced, Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975 to a Dominican family. Now aged 35, he has spent almost
half his life as a professional baseball player, being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 1993 drafts straight from high school at the age of 17.
Universally renowned as A-Rod, the dynamic Rodriguez had initially been offered to play baseball for the University of Miami and was also recruited as quarter-back for their football team. He valued his draft selection more than his scholarship at University
and opted rightly for professional baseball. Almost 18 years down the road, he can look back with pride and pat his back for the choice he made.
His success can be gauged from the amount of his contract, if money is to be rated the most powerful medium. His 10-year $275 million contract with the Yankees, dated December 2007, was the most loaded contract in baseball history, surpassing his own record
of $252 million.
A-Rod’s contract amount has paid off for the teams with his performances throughout his career. He can now be deemed as one of the most successful players of all times. Rodriguez has had 100-RBI seasons 14 times in his 17 years in baseball, the most by any
player. He was the fastest to 500 home-runs, surpassing the legendary Jimmie Foxx. Alex surpassed Sammy Sosa, the most successful Hispanic player, in September 2010, to reach 610 home-runs and own that tag.
A-Rod never had a liking for baseball at the professional level, not till his sophomore year at high school at least. He was more content on playing basketball and football. Alex's passion for baseball returned when he was impressed by his baseball coach
at Westminster Christian High, Rich Hofman. He, noticing Rodriguez’s serious talent, persuaded him to play short-stop. Hofman’s pick reaped fruits during Alex’s senior year in 1993, being rated as the top prospect in the nation and winning the USA Baseball
Junior Player of the Year award.
Rodriguez was nominated the number one draft in 1993 and the Mariners had no second thoughts about the chap. His progression from single-A to Major League was very rapid, making his Major League Baseball debut on July 8, 1994. Spending most of 1995 shifting
between the Mariners and Triple-A side Tacoma, A-Rod earned his first full season in 1996.
Who could have predicted A-Rod as a legend in the making back then? With 123 RBIs and 35 home-runs in his first season, he was right away a batting champion in the American League. Having also scored the highest runs in the AL, he got selected for the All-Star
game. A-Rod’s compilation of silverware began in the same year when he won the Major League Player of the Year and Associated Press Player of the Year Awards. He narrowly missed winning the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in his first full season, finishing
at second. However, he managed to grab the Silver Slugger Award that year.
At the age of 23, the still young Alex made history when he became only the third player in MLB history to enter the esteemed 40-40 club when he managed 42 home-runs and stole 46 bases during the 1998 season. He won his second Silver Slugger Award that year.
Continued in Part 2
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