Alex Rodriguez Profile And Images-Pictures

Alex Rodriguez born July 27, 1975, (New York City, N.Y., U.S.) American professional baseball player, a noted power hitter. Rodriguez and his family moved to his father's native Dominican Republic when Alex was four, but they later relocated to Miami, Fla. There he became an excellent ballplayer at Westminster Christian High School, and in 1993 the Seattle Mariners selected Rodriguez as the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. He made his debut with the Mariners at age 18, playing shortstop.
Rodriguez's first successful season came in 1996, when he accumulated a league-best .358 batting average with 36 home runs and 123 runs batted in. Over the next six seasons with the team, he continued to produce outstanding offensive statistics, most notably in 1998, when he became the third player in league history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. Before the 2001 season, when Rodriguez was a free agent, the Texas Rangers signed him to a 10-year $252 million contract, the richest contract ever given to an athlete at the time.