Editing Alex Rodriguez (section)

====2004====
During his first season with the Yankees, Rodriguez hit .286 with 36 home runs, 106 RBIs, 112 runs scored and 28 stolen bases.<ref name="b-r" /> He became one of only three players in Major League history to compile at least 35 home runs, 100 runs and 100 RBIs in seven consecutive seasons, joining Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. The 112 runs marked the ninth straight season in which he scored at least 100 runs, the longest such streak in the Major Leagues since [[Hank Aaron]] did it in 13 straight seasons from 1955 to 1967, and the longest in the American League since [[Mickey Mantle]] did it also in nine straight seasons from 1953 to 1961. During the 2004 season, he also became the youngest player ever to reach 350 home runs and the third youngest to reach 1,000 RBIs. He was elected to the 2004 American League All-Star Team, the eighth All-Star selection of his career and the first as a [[third baseman]]. On July 24, 2004, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch from [[Bronson Arroyo]], which led to a scuffle with [[Boston Red Sox]] catcher [[Jason Varitek]], and a bench-clearing brawl between both teams. On defense, he had the lowest range factor among non-[[platoon system|platoon]] AL third basemen (2.39) in his first year at the position.<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB Player Fielding Stats – As 3b – 2004|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/fielding/_/year/2004/position/3b/league/al/sort/rangeFactor/order/true|access-date=May 30, 2010|website=[[ESPN]]|publisher=}}</ref> He finished 14th in balloting for the AL MVP Award.<ref>{{cite web|title=2004 Awards Voting|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2004.shtml|access-date=April 8, 2020|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|language=en}}</ref>

In the 2004 [[American League Division Series|ALDS]], Rodriguez was a dominant hitter against the [[Minnesota Twins]], batting .421 and slugging .737 while delivering two key extra-inning hits. Following the series win, Rodriguez's first season with the Yankees culminated in a dramatic playoff series against the team he had almost ended up playing for: the Yankees' bitter [[Yankees–Red Sox rivalry|rival]], the [[Boston Red Sox]]. In that series (ALCS) he equaled the single-game post-season record with five runs scored in Game 3 at Boston.

One of the most controversial plays of Rodriguez's career occurred late in Game 6 of the [[2004 American League Championship Series]]. With one out and [[Derek Jeter]] on first base in the bottom of the eighth inning, Rodriguez hit a slow roller between the pitcher's mound and the first-base line. Red Sox [[pitcher]] [[Bronson Arroyo]] fielded the ball and ran towards Rodriguez to apply a tag. As Arroyo reached towards him, Rodriguez swatted at his glove, knocking the ball loose. As the ball rolled away, Jeter scored all the way from first as Rodriguez took second on the play, which was initially ruled an error on Arroyo. However, the umpires quickly huddled, then ruled that Rodriguez was out for interference. Jeter was sent back to first base, and his run was nullified.<ref>{{cite news|last=Swan|first=Lisa|date=October 19, 2004|title=Greatest Moments at Yankee Stadium|work=[[New York Daily News]]|location=New York|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/features/thestadium/the_greatest/notsogreat-a-rod-slap-play.html|url-status=dead|access-date=August 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723142910/http://www.nydailynews.com/features/thestadium/the_greatest/notsogreat-a-rod-slap-play.html|archive-date=July 23, 2010}}</ref> The Yankees would then lose the ALCS to the eventual [[2004 World Series|World Series]] champion Red Sox after leading the series three games to none.