Shortstop, Texas
Rangers
Age: 28 (July 27)
3rd season with
Rangers
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 230
Prior to 2003:
Rodriguez was
born in New York City to Dominican parents who returned to Santo Domingo when
he was four. The family returned to the US a few years later, this time in
Miami where Rodriguez played youth league baseball. At Westminster Christian
High School, he excelled in football and basketball, as well as baseball. The
Seattle Mariners made him the first overall pick in the 1993 amateur draft and
he signed for a $1.3 million bonus. The 18-year-old Rodriguez was first
assigned to Appleton of the Class A Midwest League in 1994 where he batted .319
in 65 games and was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern
League. He played in 17 games at Class AA and was promoted to the Mariners in
July. Overmatched in his first exposure to the big leagues, Rodriguez was sent
to the Calgary Cannons of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit .311
in 32 games with 6 home runs and 21 RBIs. Following a winter of play in the
Dominican Republic, Rodriguez was assigned to Tacoma of the PCL in 1995. He moved
back-and-forth between Tacoma and the Mariners during the season and by August
he was back with Seattle full-time. In Class AAA he batted .360 in 54 games
with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs and in 48 appearances with the Mariners he hit
.232 with 5 home runs and 19 RBIs. Rodriguez became the starting shortstop in
1996 and led the AL in runs scored (141), doubles (54), batting (.358), and
total bases (379) in addition to compiling 36 home runs and 123 RBIs. The
player known as “A-Rod” also was an All-Star for the first time, was awarded a
Silver Slugger, finished second in league MVP voting by a narrow margin, and
was named MLB Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Rodriguez started strong
in 1997 but, bothered by a chest injury, overall his numbers dropped to a .300
average with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. In the field he led all AL shortstops by
committing 24 errors. He started at shortstop for the AL in the All-Star Game.
In 1998 “A-Rod” batted .310 with a league-leading 213 hits as well as 42 home
runs, 124 RBIs, and 46 stolen bases. He also topped all AL shortstops with 731
total chances and ranked second with 268 put outs and 445 assists. In 1999, Rodriguez
suffered a knee injury that required surgery early in the season and ended up
hitting .285 in 129 games with 42 home runs and 111 RBIs. With center fielder
Ken Griffey, Jr. gone in 2000, “A-Rod” became the key player in Seattle’s
lineup and batted .316 with 41 home runs and 132 RBIs. He finished third in AL
MVP balloting. A free agent in the offseason, Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252
million contract with the Rangers. He had an outstanding season with a losing
team in 2001, hitting .318 with a league-leading 133 runs scored and 52 home
runs, plus 135 RBIs. He also led all AL shortstops with 279 put outs and
finished sixth in league MVP voting. “A-Rod” placed second for AL MVP in 2002
after batting .300 with 57 home runs and 142 RBIs. He also received a Gold
Glove for outstanding play in the field.
2003 Season Summary
Appeared in 161
games
SS – 158, DH – 1,
PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 715 [5]
At Bats – 607 [18]
Runs – 124 [1]
Hits – 181 [12,
tied with Carlos Lee]
Doubles – 30
Triples – 6 [13,
tied with six others]
Home Runs – 47
[1]
RBI – 118 [2]
Bases on Balls
– 87 [8]
Int. BB – 10
[8, tied with Eric Chavez & Garret Anderson]
Strikeouts – 126
[7]
Stolen Bases – 17
[17, tied with five others]
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .298
[20]
OBP - .396 [7,
tied with Trot Nixon]
Slugging Pct. -
.600 [1]
Total Bases – 364
[2]
GDP – 16 [16,
tied with Dmitri Young & Hank Blalock]
Hit by Pitches
– 15 [6, tied with A.J. Pierzynski, David Eckstein & Carl Everett]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6
League-leading runs
scored were +4 ahead of runner-up Nomar Garciaparra
League-leading
home runs were +5 ahead of runners-up Carlos Delgado & Frank Thomas
League-leading slugging
percentage was +.007 ahead of runner-up Carlos Delgado
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 22, RBI – 60, AVG - .285, SLG PCT - .544
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 5 AB) vs. NY Yankees 4/27
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
HR at home – 26
HR on road – 21
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Anaheim 4/16, (in 4 AB) at Kansas City 8/28 – 11 innings,
(in 5 AB) vs. Anaheim 9/20
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 6 vs. NY Yankees 4/27
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 2 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 699
Put Outs – 227
Assists – 464
Errors – 8
DP – 111
Pct. - .989
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
AL Hank Aaron
Award: MLB
All-Star (started
for AL at SS)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Alex Rodriguez,
Tex.: 242 pts. – 6 of 28 first place votes, 62% share
Carlos Delgado,
Tor.: 213 pts. – 5 first place votes, 54% share
Jorge Posada,
NYY: 194 pts. – 5 first place votes, 49% share
Shannon
Stewart, Tor./Min.: 140 pts. – 3 first place votes, 36% share
David Ortiz,
Bos.: 130 pts. – 4 first place votes, 33% share
(1 first place
vote apiece for Manny Ramirez, Bos., who ranked sixth, Nomar Garciaparra, Bos.
who ranked seventh, Vernon Wells, Tor., who ranked eighth, Miguel Tejada, Oak.,
who ranked eleventh & Jason Giambi,NYY, who ranked 13th)
---
Rangers went 71-91
to finish fourth (last) in the AL Western Division, 25 games behind the
division-winning Oakland Athletics, while leading the league in home runs (239).
Aftermath of ‘03:
In the
offseason, “A-Rod” was traded to the New York Yankees for power-hitting second
baseman Alfonso Soriano. Shifted to third base due to the presence of Derek
Jeter, Rodriguez adjusted well in the field and at the plate batted .286 with 36
home runs and 106 RBIs. New York won the AL East and “A-Rod” hit well in the
ALDS triumph over the Twins. The Yanks lost the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox
despite breaking out to a 3 games-to-0 lead and Rodriguez was part of the
collapse, managing only two hits in his last 17 at bats. He had a second MVP
season in 2005, batting .321 with 130 RBIs and a league-leading 48 home runs
and .610 slugging percentage. The Yanks narrowly topped the AL East but lost to
the Angels in the ALDS as Rodriguez again took criticism for hitting just .133
in the five games. He had another strong
performance in 2006, hitting .290 with 35 home runs and 121 RBIs. He and the
Yankees again came up short in the postseason. “A-Rod” got off to a fast start
with the slow-starting Yanks in 2007 and rode that to his third MVP season,
batting .314 and topping the AL in runs scored (143), home runs (54), RBIs
(156), slugging (.645), and total bases (376). Following the season, he chose
to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract but then re-signed with the
Yankees for $270 million over 10 years. Rodriguez encountered injury problems
in 2008, as well as off-field controversy. He ended up producing solidly (35
home runs, 103 RBIs, .302 average) while leading the AL in slugging (.573). Surgery
for a hip condition limited Rodriguez to 124 games in 2009, with his production
limited to 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, and a .286 batting average. He played well
in the postseason as the Yankees reached the World Series and defeated the
Phillies. In 2010 “A-Rod” reached the 600-home run milestone during a season in
which he batted .270 with 30 home runs and 125 RBIs. A knee injury that
required arthroscopic surgery limited him to 99 games in 2011 as well as 16
home runs and 62 RBIs. Following another injury-plagued season in 2012,
Rodriguez underwent further hip surgery in 2013. After a minor league
rehabilitation assignment, he joined the Yankees in August facing a suspension
by major league baseball for his use of performance-enhancing drugs and his
related involvement with the Biogenesis scandal. He ended up appearing in just
44 major league games with 7 home runs and 19 RBIs. He was suspended for the entire
2014 season. Reinstated in 2015, Rodriguez played in 151 games, primarily as a
Designated Hitter, and hit .250 with 33 home runs and 86 RBIs. He played one
last season in 2015. Overall for his career, “A-Rod” batted .295 with 3115 hits
that included 548 doubles, 31 triples, and 696 home runs. He also struck out
2287 times and compiled 2086 RBIs and 329 stolen bases. Often criticized for a
lack of postseason production, he appeared in 76 postseason games and hit .259
with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs. In addition to being a three-time AL MVP, Rodriguez
was a 14-time All-Star (three with Texas) and won two Gold Gloves and 10 Silver
Slugger Awards.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
No comments:
Post a Comment