At the age of 25, Alex Rodriguez (or A-Rod as he is affectionately known to fans) became the best-paid player in baseball in December of 2000 as he signed a $252 million, ten-year free agent contract with the Texas Rangers. This placed his per-game earnings at $173,793, or more than $40,000 each time he was called up to bat. Though Rodriguez was highly regarded player, his new contract sparked a firestorm of controversy as public debate centered on whether someone in his position warranted that income and whether the gap in salaries between wealthy and poorer teams was bad for the game because it stifled competition.

A talented shortstop, Alex Rodriguez had played professional ball since signing with the Seattle Mariners in 1993. After some time in the minors, in 1994 he became just the third 18-year-old shortstop since 1900 to start with a major-league baseball team. In addition to his hard work and skill on the field, Rodriguez, despite his tender age, quickly became known as a level-headed, mature player with respect and consideration for teammates, fans, and even the media. No matter the pressure, his composure was collected and his words were well-chosen. And, as a GQ cover model and one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1998, he became a favorite of swooning female fans.

Alex Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975, in New York City to Victor and Lourdes Navarro Rodriguez. His father ran a shoe store in Manhattan, then moved the family to his native country of the Dominican Republic when his son was four. There, his father was a catcher for a Dominican pro team. When Alex Rodriguez was in fourth grade, they returned to the United States to live in Miami. A year later, his parents separated, and his mother raised her children--Alex Rodriguez and his two older siblings, Joe and Susy--on her own. In order to send her son to private school, she worked days as a secretary at an immigration office and waited tables at night.

Growing up, Alex Rodriguez began playing baseball, and his performance soared when he returned to the United States and had access to better equipment. He honed his skills at Miami's Hank Kline Boys & Girls Club. By the time he was a senior in high school, scouts were prowling at the door. In his three years at Westminster Christian High, Rodriguez hit .419 with 17 home runs, 70 RBI and 90 stolen bases in 100 games, and led the Warriors to a 86-13-1 record. In 1992, the National High School Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball American named his team national champions.

In his senior year, Alex Rodriguez was a first team prep All-American, after batting .505 with nine home runs and 36 RBI in 33 games. He also stole 35 bases in as many attempts that year. He was named USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and Gatorade's National Student Athlete of the Year in baseball. On top of this, Rodriguez also played quarterback on the football team his junior year, assisting them to a 9-1 record. He was also an honor roll student.

• Women's Sports and Fitness, July 2000, p. 55.

While in high school, Alex Rodriguez accepted a scholarship at the University of Miami, but professional scouts were already abuzz. They began calling him the next Cal Ripken. It was no surprise when the Seattle Mariners chose Rodriguez as the first pick of the free-agent amateur draft in June of 1993. "One of the things the scouts like most about him is his zest for the game," wrote Tim Kurkjian in Sports Illustrated.

Despite his love of ball, Alex Rodriguez was no wide-eyed whiz kid just happy to be on the field. Representing him was Scott Boras, a sports agent known for his tough negotiations, especially in regard to inflating prices of draft picks. Throughout the summer, Boras haggled intensely on a salary, allowing correspondence only by fax machines. Though many criticized this kind of bargaining for a rookie, Boras helped his client land a three-year, $1.3 million deal.

Starting out in the minor league, Alex Rodriguez played Class A ball in Appleton, Wisconsin, beginning in the spring of 1994. He hit .319 in 65 games and got bumped up to play Class AA in Jacksonville, Florida. After just 17 games there, Mariners manager Lou Pinella called him up to the majors. "There's always a concern when you start a kid this young, but we feel this kid can handle it," Pinella told Dan Le Batard of the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. "He has an abundance of skills, and he doesn't lack confidence. You get vibes from young players."

At the time, Alex Rodriguez was just 18, making him the youngest player to join a professional baseball organization since Jose Rijo joined the New York Yankees at age 18 in 1984. Once with the Mariners, Rodriguez joined Ken Griffey, Jr., the first pick of the 1987 draft who reached the majors at age 19. Griffey took him under his wing, and Rodriguez considers him a major influence, though they had some differences during their time as teammates.

In July of 1994 Alex Rodriguez started his first game for the Mariners against Boston. Though he had no hits, he fared better in his second game with two hits and a stolen base. However, after 17 games he was posting a dismal .204 batting average, so the team sent him back to their Triple A Calgary team. In the winter of 1994-95, Rodriguez played in the Dominican Republic and only batted .179. At the outset of the 1995 season, he alternated between the Mariners and Triple A Tacoma. Though frustrated, he stuck with it and finally returned to the majors permanently on August 31 that year.

Subsequently, Rodriguez, who batted only .232 that season, served as backup to shortstop Luis Sojo and watched mostly from the bench as the team effected an awe-inspiring comeback. On August 9, 1995, they had trailed the California Angels in the American League West Division by 11 games. But a hot streak shot them past the Angels to capture the division lead late in the season. By year's end, they were tied, and Seattle won the deciding game 9-1 to make the playoffs for the first time in their history. They ended up winning the division series against the New York Yankees, but lost the title to the Cleveland Indians four games to two. "It was an awesome experience," Rodriguez told Gerry Callahan in Sports Illustrated. "I was 20 years old. It would have been ludicrous for me to think I should have been in there. I understood my role--I was there to pinch run or fill in if someone got hurt--and it didn't bother me at all."

Before the 1996 season, Sojo left Seattle to join the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez moved into the starting shortstop position. He was in top physical shape after giving up fast food the previous winter. At first, he was slotted ninth in the lineup, but Pinella soon decided to move him up to second, just ahead of Griffey. This was a boon for Rodriguez, because opposing pitchers had to try to pitch well to him or else face Griffey, a powerhouse hitter. With better pitches, Rodriguez steadily improved his average, hitting .393 in May, .324 in June, .383 in July, and .435 in August. Overall, he posted a .358 in 1996 and appeared as the youngest player in the All-Star game.

Also in 1996, Alex Rodriguez led the major leagues with a .358 average, 36 homers, and 123 RBI. His 215 hits ranked him second in the American League, and he was first with 54 doubles. In addition, he broke numerous records. He posted the highest single-season numbers for major league shortstops for runs scored, hits, doubles, extra base hits (91), and slugging percentage (.631). With 379 total bases, he tied the major league record for a shortstop set by Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs in 1958. He also became the third-youngest batting champion in history and the youngest since the Detroit Tigers' Al Kaline at age 20 hit .340 in 1955.

At the end of 1996, Alex Rodriguez was named Sporting News Major League Player of the Year. He also finished second in the league's most valuable player contest, just three votes behind Juan Gonzales of the Texas Rangers. Also, throughout the season Rodriguez committed only 15 errors and finished second in American League voting for the Golden Glove award for fielding excellence.

Following this, hopes were high going into 1997. Alex Rodriguez remarked to Tom Verducci in Sports Illustrated, "I want to get better. I love it when people say that last season was a career year for me, that I can't do it again. I love to hear people say that. That's a challenge to me, a major challenge." However, teammate Griffey told Rains in the Sporting News, "I just hope people don't expect him to put up those same numbers every year." If they did, they were disappointed. Though Alex Rodriguez still had a respectable season, his average fell to .300, with 23 home runs and 84 RBI. The Mariners won the American League West Division title that year, but lost in the Division Series, 3-1, to the Baltimore Orioles.

The next year Alex Rodriguez picked up the pace, posting a .310 average and hitting 42 homers and 124 RBI. He also became the third player in major league history to join the "40-40 club," meaning he hit 40 home runs and stole 40 bases in one year. In fact, he posted 42 homers and 46 stolen bases. The others were Barry Bonds in 1996 and Jose Canseco in 1988, both with 42 homers and 40 stolen bases.

In 1999, Alex Rodriguez suffered an injury March 30 in Arizona while doing agility exercises that required him to jump over tall boxes. He missed 32 games with torn cartilage in his left knee and underwent surgery. Still, he closed the season with a .285 average, 42 home runs, and 111 RBI. Coming out of his 2000 season, Alex Rodriguez posted a .316 average, 41 homers and 132 RBI. His fielding stats stood at a career .973. Also that year, he was coming to the end of his five-year, $10.6 million contract and was ready to negotiate.

Long before Alex Rodriquez's time with the Mariners was up, other teams began courting him, and word got out that his new contract could exceed $200 million. In July of 2000, though, he commented to Mark Ribowsky in Sport that the money was not the issue. He said he wanted to be on "a championship-caliber team," and added, "If I'm in a World Series this year, you can pretty much carve it in stone that I'm staying [with the Mariners]." The media speculation swirled for months as to which club would snap him up, and Rodriguez calmly deflected questions.

In December of 2000, the tension was over as Alex Rodriguez signed his record-breaking contract with the Texas Rangers. They had won the American League West in 1999, marking its third division title in four years, but their fortunes sank in 2000. Rodriguez was hopeful he could turn them around again. In addition to $252 million over ten years, his contract included a no-trade clause and an escape clause that granted him the right to become a free agent after seven years. It also required that in the last two years of the contract, the Rangers must pay Rodriguez $1 million more than the game's highest-paid player, give him a $5 million raise, or allow him to become a free agent.

Immediately, there was an outcry. Commentators protested that Alex Rodriguez was overpaid. Baseball executives held him up as an example of the disparity between rich and poor teams and decried the lack of restraint on the part of owners that drives up salaries. But as Rangers manager Johnny Oates explained to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press (in an article printed in the Arizona Republic), " We're talking about more than hitting a baseball. We're talking about marketing an area."

Team owner Tom Hicks, one of Fortune's 400 wealthiest Americans, noted to Sean Deveney in the Sporting News, "I know there is a problem in baseball. But I cannot fix it myself. Something needs to be changed, but until it is changed, I have to do what is best for me. I have to do what is best for the Texas Rangers." Rodriguez, meanwhile, told Deveney, "Hopefully, when it is over, they won't be calling Mr. Hicks a fool, but the wisest man in baseball. But only time will tell."

Alex Rodriguez is six feet, three inches tall and about 195 pounds. He counts fellow ballplayer Derek Jeter as one of his best friends and also remains close with his family. He spends the off-season with his mother in Florida and calls her about five times a week. The author of a children's book, Hit a Grand Slam, he also established a program in 1996 called Grand Slam for Kids, which encourages good study habits. Rodriguez's hobbies include golfing, running, reading, traveling, and boating.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ PERSONAL INFORMATION

Born July 27, 1975, in New York, NY; son of Victor and Lourdes Navarro Rodriguez.

Addresses: Office—c/o Texas Rangers, 1000 Ballpark Way, Ste. 400, Arlington, TX 76011.

AWARDS

USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and Gatorade's National Student Athlete of the Year, 1993; Sporting News player of the year, 1996.

CAREER

Baseball shortstop. Seattle Mariners, first pick of the free-agent amateur draft, June 1993; signed with Texas Rangers, 2000.

FURTHER READINGS

Periodicals

• Arizona Republic, May 15, 1999, p. C6; December 12, 2000, p. C1.
• Baseball Digest, July 2000, p. 40; December 2000, p. 60.
• Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, July 8, 1994; July 13, 1996; July 28, 1996.
• Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, April 8, 1999, p. 4.
• People, May 11, 1998, p. 157; December 25, 2000, p. 75.
• Sport, July 1997, p. 65; October 1997, p. 70; July 2000, p. 32.
• Sporting News, October 14, 1996, p. 19; June 28, 1999, p. 12; October 23, 2000, p. 48.
• Sports Illustrated, March 22, 1993, p. 74; June 14, 1993, p. 68; July 18, 1994, p. 39; July 8, 1996, p. 38; February 24, 1997, p. 50.
• Washington Post, December 12, 2000, p. D1.