Over the next decade, Rodriguez proved to be one of baseball's best all-around players, putting up gaudy numbers that put him on track to be one of the game's all-time greats. 358, clubbed 36 home runs and knocked in 123 runners to finish second in the MVP race. He logged only 54 at-bats that year and 142 the following season, but by 1996, Rodriquez, as he quickly came to be known, was a bona fide star. Rodriguez's rise through the Seattle system was meteoric, and he made his Major League debut in 1994, a few weeks before his 19th birthday. 1 overall in Major League Baseball's 1993 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners, he went pro by signing a three-year, $1.3 million contract. Rodriguez had already committed to attend the University of Miami, but when he was selected No. By his senior year, Rodriguez had made the decision to concentrate fully on baseball, and scouts jammed the school's ball field to watch the 6-foot-3, 195-pound shortstop play. 477 and stole 42 bases in just 35 games while leading the school to the 1992 state championship. On the baseball field, Rodriguez was an even bigger star. In high school, Rodriguez was a gifted football player, playing quarterback at Westminster Christian School, a small private school in Miami. Not long afterward, Victor and Lourdes separated, leaving Rodriguez's mother to raise the family on her own. When he reached fifth grade, however, the Rodriguez family was on the move again, this time relocating to Miami. That rubbed off on me.'Īt age 4, Rodriguez moved with his family to the Dominican Republic, where he first started playing baseball. 'I saw how passionate he was about the game,' Rodriguez once recalled.

His father was a former pro catcher in his native Dominican Republic and a passionate New York Mets fan. At an early age, baseball was a central part of Rodriguez's life. Early LifeĪlexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975, in New York City, the youngest of Victor Rodriguez and Lourdes Navarro's three children. Rodriguez played his final game in August 2016, finishing among the all-time leaders in home runs, RBIs and runs scored, before embarking on a broadcasting career. He also drew criticism for his postseason struggles and was suspended for the entire 2014 season for using performance-enhancing drugs. Blessed with tremendous all-around ability, he became a home run champ and a three-time MVP during his years with the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez made his Major League Baseball debut with the Seattle Mariners at age 18.

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