ALEX RODRIGUEZ Third Baseman- New York Yankees.
Alex Rodriguez will be thirty-two years old on July 27th of the 2008 season, and will be in the middle of his fifteenth MLB season. Since debuting with Seattle in July of 1994, Rodriguez has compiled a .306 BA, with 2,250 hits, 395 doubles, 26 triples, 518 HR's, 1503 RBI's and 265 stolen bases.
A-Rod has appeared in 11 All-Star games, won two Gold Gloves, one batting title, two AL MVP Awards, led the AL in HR's five times, RBI's twice, doubles twice, runs scored five times.
A-Rod was an All-Star shortstop, who became a third baseman when he moved to the NY Yankees, and became an All-Star at a second position. Rodriguez's path to NY led from Seattle to Texas, where he signed the richest contract in professional sports history with a 10-year $252 million dollar deal, and played only three years with the Rangers before the burden of the deal necessitated a trade to the Yankees.
A-Rod played four seasons in NY, culminating in his best year as a Yankee, in which he connected for 54 HR's, 156 RBI's and a .314 BA. If A-Rod was able to get $252 Million after 41 HR's and 132 RBI with a .316 AVG for Seattle in 2000, what is he worth now?
According to published reports, A-Rod and his agent believe he's worth $350 Million, and they might be right based on his numbers over his fourteen-year career. That is if you don't look at the Playoff numbers. In 39 Postseason games in his career, A-Rod has never advanced further than the ALDS. And in those 39 games, A-Rod is a .279 batter, with 7 HR's and 17 RBI's.
In 2007, the year A-Rod finally "became a Yankee" he hit .267 with 1 HR and 1 RBI in losing three of four games to the Cleveland Indians. Before the World Series was over(At least A-Rod waited until the middle of Game 4), A-Rod had once again declared his intention to move on from another Playoff disappointment, and once again test the free agent market, convinced someone else will overpay for a Regular Season MVP and, so far, a complete Playoff Bust.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your SBN AL MVP, as unanimously voted by the Baseball Writers of the SB Nation...
ALEX RODRIGUEZ SS/3B - Free Agent...