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Alex Rodriguez: Teams
built 186 days ago
Alex Rodriguez will finish his career as one of the best players to ever step onto a ball diamond. He can do it all. He's got amazing power and can ... hit for average. He can steal a base when his team needs it and his defense is actually underrated. Perennial MVP candidate.
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In his first season with the Yankees, Rodriguez hit .286 with 36 home runs, 106 runs batted in, 112 runs scored and 28 stolen bases. He became one of only three players in Major League history to compile at least 35 home runs, 100 runs and 100 RBI 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 1955-1967, and the longest in the American League since Mickey Mantle did it ... in nine straight seasons from 1953-1961. During the 2004 season, he also became the youngest player ever to reach the 350 HR mark and the third youngest to reach the 1,000 RBI plateau. 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, after being hit by a pitch, Rodriguez and Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek scuffled, leading to a brawl between both teams.
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Rodriguez was a star shortstop at Miami's Westminster Christian High School. In 100 games he batted .419 with 90 steals. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting .505 with 9 homers, 36 RBI, and 35 steals in 35 tries in 33 games, and was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and as Gatorade's national baseball student athlete of the year. Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Miami and was ... recruited by the university to play quarterback for its football team. Rodriguez turned down Miami's baseball scholarship and never played college baseball, opting instead to become eligible for the amateur draft at the age of 17.
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In 1996, Alex began his first full year in the Major Leagues. Rodriguez hit .358 with 36 home runs, 123 RBIs, 141 runs scored, and 54 doubles all along playing excellent defense at shortstop. He became the 14th youngest player to make the All-Star team at 20 years old, 11 months and 18 days. He was 3 points shy of the MVP award and on the brink to stardom. He is now recognized as the new breed of shortstops who can field and hit for power, replacing current legends like Cal Ripken, Jr. and Ozzie Smith.
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In the 2004 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 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.
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Rodriguez derives much criticism for being unable to perform by getting a hit with runners in scoring position or other clutch situations. However, from 2003 to 2006, Rodríguez's batting average with the bases loaded is .371 with an on-base percentage of .422 (in 2006 so far, the numbers are .467 and .524 respectively). Rodríguez's other batting lines over this period include a .432 average with a runner on third (.385 in '06), .381 with a runner in scoring position (.413 in '06), and .392 with a runner in scoring position and 2 out (.489 in '06). Despite putting up gaudy numbers in the usual situations where pitchers struggle, Rodríguez's struggles seem to be more memorable than his successes. His contract, and his sub-par (for himself) season in [[2006] ]bring out these struggles to the greatest extent. In the end, the argument is that Alex Rodríguez will put up the numbers at the end of the season but never seems perform when his team needs him most.
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