Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975 in
New York, New York), commonly nicknamed A-Rod, is a
Dominican American baseball player. He is currently
the third baseman for the New York Yankees, after
having played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and
Texas Rangers.
Since 1996, his first full season, through 2007 he
leads the Major Leagues in home runs (HR), runs
scored, runs batted in (RBI), total bases and
extra-base hits. He is currently first all-time in
HR, runs scored and total bases; second in extra
base hits and RBI, and 4th in hits among all players
in baseball history prior to their 31st birthday. In
addition, to this point in his career Rodriguez has
more HR, RBI, runs scored and more base hits than
all-time leaders Hank Aaron (RBI), Barry Bonds (HR),
Rickey Henderson (runs scored), and Pete Rose (hits)
did prior to their 31st birthdays. He is the
youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking
the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939.
He has been cited as among the best all-around
players currently in baseball.
On October 28, 2007, Rodriguez, at the
recommendation of his agent, opted out of the final
three years of his contract with the Yankees. On
December 13, 2007, Rodriguez announced the signing
of a new 10-year contract with the Yankees,
reportedly worth $275 million and $30 million more
if he breaks the all-time home run record of 762,
making it the richest contract in baseball history.
Alex Rodriguez was born in the Washington Heights
section of New York City. When he was four,
Rodriguez and his parents moved to their native
Dominican Republic. After the family moved to Miami,
Florida, three years later, Rodriguez's father
announced his intention to move back north to New
Jersey for a short time. He never returned,
abandoning Rodriguez and his mother. His favorite
baseball players when he was growing up were Keith
Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken.
