Career
Rodriguez made his debut appearance with ‘Seattle Mariners’ at the age of 18 in 1994, playing shortstop in a game against the ‘Red Sox’ at Fenway. The following year, he hit his first home run against ‘Kansas City’ at Kingdome.
In 1995, he was assigned to Seattle's ‘Triple-A’ club and was made the starting shortstop of the team. He was featured in the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’ with a headline reading, ‘Short Story: Jeter and Rodriguez head up the finest group of short sports since WWII.’
In 1997, he was named as the ‘Major League Player of the Year’ by the ‘Sporting News’ and ‘Associated Press.’ He almost became the ‘Youngest Most Valuable Player’ in the baseball history that year, but lost the title to Juan Gonzalez.
In 1998, Rodriguez was selected as ‘Players Choice AL Player of the Year’ and won his second ‘Silver Slugger Award.’ In 1999, he had 42 home runs, 111 RBIs, and an average of .310. The following year, he was named the ‘Major League Player of the Year’ by ‘Baseball America.’
He signed with ‘Texas Rangers’ in 2001. The contract was worth 252 million US dollars, the most lucrative sports contract ever in the history. ‘Rangers’ pounded ‘White Sox’ 16-6, and Rodriguez made his 200th and 201st home runs.
In 2003, he became the youngest player to hit 300 home runs and won ‘Babe Ruth Home Run Award.’ ‘Texas Rangers’ wanted to move him and his contract out and made him available for the trade. He tested positive for performance enhancing steroids.
Rodriguez was traded to the ‘New York Yankees’ in 2004 and switched to third base. In the first season with the ‘Yankees,’ he hit .286 with 36 home runs, 106 runs batted in, 112 runs scored, and 28 stolen bases.
During Game 6 of the ‘ALCS’ with ‘Boston Red Sox’ in 2004, Rodriguez swatted at ‘Red Sox’ pitcher Bronson Arroyo's glove, knocking the ball loose. He was called for interference and ruled out. ‘Yankees’ lost the game.
In 2005, Rodriguez hit .321, leading the ‘American League’ with 124 runs and 48 HR and became the first ‘Yankee’ player to win the American League home run title since Reggie Jackson in 1980. Also, he was the fifth player to win an ‘MVP’ award.
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Rodriguez was an ‘All-Star’ in 2006, and was fourth in the league in RBIs and eighth in home runs. He had at least 35 home runs, 100 runs, and 100 RBIs from nine consecutive seasons.
In 2007, Rodriguez hit his 500th career home run. He was the first and only player in ‘MLB’ history to ever hit 500 home runs, playing for three different teams. He won the ‘Players Choice Award’ for ‘Outstanding AL Player.’
Also, he became a free agent and decided not to be with the ‘Yankees.’ However, he received criticism for his decision from his fans. He ultimately signed a 10-year contract for 275 million US dollars with the ‘Yankees.’
From 2008 to 2009, Rodriguez hit two home runs in the sixth inning that drove in seven runs, setting an ‘American League’ record for most RBIs. It was the 12th consecutive season of him scoring 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.
He became the seventh player in ‘MLB’ history to hit 600 home runs and the youngest player to do so at the age of 35 in 2010. He also recorded his 100th RBI.
In 2011, Rodriguez underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus and was placed on the disabled list. He also faced allegations of being involved in the underground poker games, in which cocaine was explicitly used.
Rodriguez suffered an injury during a game against ‘Seattle’ in 2012. It was a non-displaced fracture; therefore he was on the disabled list again. But before getting injured, he became the fifth player to record 2,000 career strikeouts in ‘MLB’ history.
In 2013, he underwent a hip surgery. He was also suspected to be involved in the ‘Biogenesis baseball scandal.’ In addition to this, he was also questioned for having used performance enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez made his 2013 appearance for the ‘Yankees’ in August and on the same day, ‘MLB’ announced that he would be banned from the remainder of the 2013 season and the entire 2014 season for his role in the ‘Biogenesis scandal.’
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On February 17, 2015, Rodriguez issued a hand-written letter of apology to ‘Major League Baseball,’ the ‘Yankees,’ the Steinbrenner family, the ‘Players Association,’ and the fans.
Rodriguez played his first game after the suspension on the opening day against the ‘Blue Jays’ at ‘Yankee Stadium.’
On May 27, Rodriguez set an ‘AL’ record for the most career RBI, surpassing Lou Gehrig.
On April 17, 2016, Rodriguez became the 19th player to make 12,000 career plate appearances.
Rodriguez's spokesman said that he would not play for any other team in the coming year, and would remain a ‘special advisor’ to the ‘Yankees’ owner, Hal Steinbrenner.
