Alex Emanuel Rodriguez was born in New York City on July 27, 1975. He stayed in NYC until he was four, when his family moved back to his parents' native land - the Dominican Republic. It was there that Alex Rodriguez first learned to play baseball. Four years later, his family moved back to the United States and settled in Miami, Florida. Not long after that, Alex's parents got divorced and his father left town. His mother took two jobs to support Alex, his brother Joe and his sister, Suzy. Seeing his mom struggle to work two jobs made Alex Rodriguez determined to become a professional baseball player and make a lot of money.
Alex Rodriguez was a star baseball player at Westminster Christian High School, where he played shortstop. Rodriguez took extra batting practice and started lifting weights to add more power to his swing. His extra training paid off, and Rodriguez finished his high school career with a .419 average and 17 homers in 100 games. He also caught the attention of baseball scouts and Rodriguez was picked in the first round by the Seattle Mariners in the 1993 entry draft. In 1996, his first full season with the Mariners, Alex Rodriguez hit 36 homeruns and became one of the youngest players to make the All-Star team. Over the next two seasons, A-Rod would make a name for himself as one of the first shortstops who could hit for power.
In 1999, he became just the third player in MLB history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season. His big numbers at the plate also meant big numbers for A-Rod's paycheck. After the 2000 season, Alex Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners to sign a ten-year contract with the Texas Rangers for a whopping $252 million!
Alex Rodriguez continued to be a run-producing machine after moving to the Rangers, but he was often questioned about his massive salary ($25.2 million a year)! He hit 52 homeruns in 2001, which broke the record for homers in a season by a shortstop. In 2003, he was named the American League MVP, after hitting 47 homeruns and driving in 118 runs. Despite his personal success at the plate, the Rangers as a team still sucked and continued to finish in last place. In 2004, Alex Rodriguez realized he wasn't happy just being a good looking baseball player who makes a mountain of money. He also wanted to play for a winning team. On February 16, 2004, he agreed to be traded to the New York Yankees. The move to New York meant he would have to play third base instead of shortstop, but Alex Rodriguez felt it was a small price to pay for a shot at winning a World Series. If A-Rod continues to put up big numbers and leads the Yankees to another World Series or two, he could go down in history as one of the best baseball players of all time.
