Editing Alex Rodriguez (section)

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1975)}}
{{About|the baseball player|others of the same name|Alex Rodriguez (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name        = Alex Rodriguez
| image       = Alex Rodriguez crop.jpg
| caption     = Rodriguez in 2015
| width       = 
| position    = [[Shortstop]] / [[Third baseman]]
| bats        = Right
| throws      = Right
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1975|7|27}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| debutleague = MLB
| debutdate   = July 8
| debutyear   = 1994
| debutteam   = Seattle Mariners
| finalleague = MLB
| finaldate   = August 12
| finalyear   = 2016
| finalteam   = New York Yankees
| statleague  = MLB
| stat1label  = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value  = .295
| stat2label  = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
| stat2value  = 3,115
| stat3label  = [[Home run]]s
| stat3value  = 696
| stat4label  = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat4value  = 2,086
| teams       =
* [[Seattle Mariners]] ({{mlby|1994}}–{{mlby|2000}})
* [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] ({{mlby|2001}}–{{mlby|2003}})
* [[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|2004}}–{{mlby|2013}}, {{mlby|2015}}–{{mlby|2016}}) <!--Per discussion at WP:BASEBALL, do not add 2014 MLB season.-->
| awards      =
* 14× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1996 MLB All-Star Game|1996]]–[[1998 MLB All-Star Game|1998]], [[2000 MLB All-Star Game|2000]]–[[2008 MLB All-Star Game|2008]], [[2010 MLB All-Star Game|2010]], [[2011 MLB All-Star Game|2011]])
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|2009}})
* 3× [[AL MVP]] (2003, 2005, 2007)
* 2× [[Rawlings Gold Glove Award|Gold Glove Award]]  (2002, 2003)
* 10× [[Silver Slugger Award]]  (1996, 1998–2003, 2005, 2007, 2008)
* 4× [[AL Hank Aaron Award]]  (2001–2003, 2007)
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|MLB batting champion]] (1996)
* 5× [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders|AL home run leader]] (2001–2003, 2005, 2007)
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|MLB RBI leader]] (2002, 2007)
|medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's [[baseball]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[18U Baseball World Cup|World Junior Baseball Championship]]}}
{{MedalSilver | {{baseball year|1992}} [[Monterrey]] | [[United States national under-18 baseball team|Team]]}}
}}

'''Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez''' (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "'''A-Rod'''", is an American former professional [[baseball]] [[shortstop]], [[third baseman]] and [[designated hitter]] and current [[businessman]]. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) for the [[Seattle Mariners]] (1994–2000), [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] (2001–2003), and [[New York Yankees]] (2004–2013, 2015–2016). Rodriguez is the [[chairman]] and [[chief executive officer]] of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of [[Presidente (beer)|Presidente]] beer.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swant |first=Marty |date=January 23, 2020 |title=Alex Rodriguez Joins Presidente As Chairman And Co-Owner To Pitch Dominican Beer To The Masses |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/01/23/alex-rodriguez-joins-presidente-as-chairman-and-co-owner-to-pitch-dominican-beer-to-the-masses/ |access-date=August 16, 2020 |website=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref> He is about to purchase a controlling interest in the [[National Basketball Association]]'s [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] with [[Marc Lore]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-10 |title=Statement on Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Arbitration Ruling |url=https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/statement-on-minnesota-timberwolves-and-lynx-arbitration-ruling |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=NBA |language=en}}</ref> Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects, and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.<ref>{{cite web|author=Barra|first=Allen|date=August 22, 2006|title=Atlas slugged|url=http://villagevoice.com/nyclife/0635,barra,74310,15.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505102105/http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0635%2Cbarra%2C74310%2C15.html|archive-date=May 5, 2008|access-date=March 11, 2014|work=[[The Village Voice]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=McNeal|first=Stan|date=April 5, 2004|title=Alex the greatest for the second straight year, general managers put A-Rod at the top of our list of baseball's 50 best players|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_14_228/ai_114985740|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713020508/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_14_228/ai_114985740|archive-date=July 13, 2006|access-date=March 11, 2014|work=[[Sporting News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Graves|first=Gary|date=July 9, 2002|title=Players tab Bonds as game's best player|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/02allstar/2002-07-09-survey.htm|access-date=March 11, 2014}}</ref>

With a career .295 [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]], Rodriguez amassed over 600 [[home run]]s (696), over 2,000 [[run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI), over 2,000 [[run (baseball)|runs scored]], over 3,000 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]], and over 300 [[stolen base]]s, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats. He was also a 14-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]], winning three [[American League]] (AL) [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards]], 10 [[Silver Slugger Award]]s, and two [[Rawlings Gold Glove Award|Gold Glove Awards]]. Rodriguez is also the career record holder for [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slams]]. During the 2000s decade, Rodriguez led all players in home runs (435), runs batted in (1,243), runs scored (1,190), and [[total bases]] (3,362). Rodriguez is ranked first in career [[wins above replacement]] for shortstops of the modern era (post–1901).<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_SS.shtml|title = Shortstop JAWS Leader|access-date = August 10, 2023|website = baseball-reference.com}}</ref>

The Mariners selected Rodriguez [[List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks|first overall]] in the [[1993 Major League Baseball draft|1993 MLB draft]], and he debuted in the major leagues the following year at the age of 18. In 1996, he became the Mariners' starting shortstop, won the major league [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|batting title]], and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. His combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, but he left the team via free agency after the 2000 season to join the Rangers. The 10-year, $252&nbsp;million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history at the time. He played at a high level in his three years with Texas, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003, but the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure. Before the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, for whom he converted to a third baseman to accommodate their shortstop [[Derek Jeter]]. He was named AL MVP in 2005 and 2007. He opted out of his contract after the 2007 season, then signed a new 10-year, $275&nbsp;million deal with the Yankees, breaking his own record for the sport's most lucrative contract.<ref>{{cite web|author=DiComo|first=Anthony|date=December 13, 2007|title=Yankees finalize deal with A-Rod|url=http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071213&content_id=2324707&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215223720/http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071213&content_id=2324707&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy|archive-date=December 15, 2007|access-date=March 11, 2014|website=[[New York Yankees]]|publisher=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> He became the youngest player to hit [[500 home run club|500 home runs]], reaching the milestone in 2007. He helped the Yankees win the [[2009 World Series]] over the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], which was Rodriguez's only championship title. Toward the end of his career, he was hampered by hip and knee injuries, which caused him to become exclusively a designated hitter.<ref name="DH"/> He played his final game in professional baseball on August 12, 2016.

Despite denying in a 2007 interview that he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to having used [[steroids]], saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Rangers due to "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.<ref name="ESPNadmission">{{cite news|last=Gammons|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Gammons|date=February 9, 2009|title=A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs|work=[[ESPN]]|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847|url-status=live|access-date=February 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211024425/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847|archive-date=February 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYTadmission">{{cite news|last=Schmidt|first=Michael S.|date=February 9, 2009|title=Rodriguez Admits to Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/sports/baseball/10rodriguez.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402052853/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/sports/baseball/10rodriguez.html|archive-date=April 2, 2009}}</ref> While recovering from a hip injury in 2013, Rodriguez made headlines by feuding with team management over his rehabilitation and for having allegedly obtained performance-enhancing drugs as part of the [[Biogenesis scandal]]. In August 2013, MLB announced a 211-game suspension for Rodriguez for his involvement in the scandal.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Passan|first1=Jeff|last2=Brown|first2=Tim|date=August 4, 2013|title=Alex Rodriguez to play for Yankees while he appeals impending MLB suspension|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/alex-rodriguez-to-play-for-yankees-while-he-appeals-impending-mlb-suspension-004223046.html|access-date=August 13, 2013|website=[[Yahoo! Sports]]|publisher=}}</ref> After an arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, which kept him off the field for the entire 2014 season.<ref name="162games">{{cite web|last=Matthews|first=Wallace|date=January 11, 2014|title=A-Rod to miss all of 2014 season|url=https://www.espn.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10278277/alex-rodriguez-suspension-reduced-162-games|access-date=March 11, 2014|website=[[ESPN]]|publisher=}}</ref>

After retiring as a player, Rodriguez became a media personality, serving as a broadcaster for [[Fox Sports 1]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|author=|date=March 7, 2017|title=Alex Rodriguez joins Fox Sports as full-time MLB analyst|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/03/07/alex-rodriguez-fox-sports-mlb-analyst|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> a cast member of ''[[Shark Tank]]''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gleeson|first=Scott|date=May 16, 2017|title=Alex Rodriguez joining 'Shark Tank' as guest judge in the fall|language=en|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/05/16/alex-rodriguez-joining-shark-tank-judge/101740454/|access-date=September 5, 2017}}</ref> and a member of the [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] network.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Gartland|first=Dan|date=May 27, 2017|title=Report: Alex Rodriguez to join ABC News|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/05/27/alex-rodriguez-abc-news-good-morning-america-television|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> In January 2018, [[ESPN]] announced that Rodriguez would be joining the broadcast team of ''[[Sunday Night Baseball]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/01/23/alex-rodriguez-added-espn-sunday-night-baseball/yK1G85ciGsJveZGFaKAwEJ/story.html |title=Alex Rodriguez added to ESPN's 'Sunday Night Baseball' crew |first=Chad |last=Finn |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=January 23, 2018 |access-date=January 25, 2018}}</ref> In January 2017, [[CNBC]] announced Rodriguez would be the host of the show ''[[Back in the Game (2019 TV series)|Back in the Game]]'', where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives; the first episode debuted on the network in March 2018.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 17, 2017|title=Alex Rodriguez to host CNBC reality show featuring cash-strapped former athletes|work=[[ESPN]]|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/18495268/alex-rodriguez-host-cnbc-reality-show-featuring-cash-strapped-former-athletes|access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref>