Alex Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975 in New York City), nicknamed A-Rod, is a third baseman in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Rodriguez is widely regarded as one of the best players in the Major Leagues, and, at a relatively young age, is already being mentioned as one of the greatest players in baseball history.
Rodriguez was drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners. He later signed an unprecedented $252 million free-agent deal to play shortstop with the Texas Rangers, where he was dubbed one of a Holy Trinity of shortstops that played in the 1990's and 2000's. He was then traded to the New York Yankees in 2004, where he moved to third base to accommodate Derek Jeter. In 2003, he became the youngest major-leaguer to reach 300 home runs; on June 8, 2005, he became the youngest with 400.
On November 17, 2003, Rodriguez won the American League Most Valuable Player award. It was the second time the award had gone to a player whose team finished last in the league (Andre Dawson won the award for the last-place Chicago Cubs in 1987). The following month, the Rangers tried to trade Rodriguez and his hefty salary to the Boston Red Sox. The Players Association blocked the deal, because the Red Sox wanted to cut Rodriguez's pay. On January 25, 2004, he was named captain of the Rangers. Less than three weeks later, he was traded to the Yankees, the first reigning MVP to be traded.
On November 14, 2005, Rodriguez won his second MVP award as the Yankees' third baseman.
