Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1994–2000), Texas Rangers (2001–2003), and New York Yankees (2004–2013, 2015–2016). Rodriguez is the chairman and chief executive officer of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of Presidente beer. He owns a controlling interest in the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves with Marc Lore. Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
With a career .295 batting average, Rodriguez amassed over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBI), over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats. He was also a 14-time All-Star, winning three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards. Rodriguez is also the career record holder for grand slams. During the 2000s decade, Rodriguez led all players in home runs (435), runs batted in (1,243), runs scored (1,190), and total bases (3,362).
The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft, and he debuted in the major leagues the following year at the age of 18. In 1996, he became the Mariners' starting shortstop, won the major league batting title, and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. His combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, but he left the team via free agency after the 2000 season to join the Rangers. The 10-year, $252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history at the time. He played at a high level in his three years with Texas, winning his first AL MVP Award win in 2003, but the team failed to make the playoffs. Before the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, for whom he converted to a third baseman to accommodate their shortstop Derek Jeter. He was named AL MVP in 2005 and 2007. He opted out of his contract after the 2007 season, then signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees, breaking his own record for the sport's most lucrative contract. He became the youngest player to hit 500 home runs, reaching the milestone in 2007. He was a part of the Yankees victory in the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, Rodriguez's only championship title. Toward the end of his career, he was hampered by hip and knee injuries, which caused him to become exclusively a designated hitter. He played his final game in professional baseball on August 12, 2016.
Despite denying in a 2007 interview that he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to having used steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Rangers due to "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform. While recovering from a hip injury in 2013, Rodriguez made headlines by feuding with team management over his rehabilitation and for having allegedly obtained performance-enhancing drugs as part of the Biogenesis scandal. In August 2013, MLB announced a 211-game suspension for Rodriguez for his involvement in the scandal. After an arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, which kept him off the field for the entire 2014 season.
After retiring as a player, Rodriguez became a media personality, serving as a broadcaster for Fox Sports, a cast member of Shark Tank and a contributor to ABC News. In January 2018, ESPN announced that Rodriguez would be joining the broadcast team of Sunday Night Baseball.
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Early life
Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan to Dominican immigrants Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Marcano and Lourdes Nelly Navarro Melo from San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. He was raised alongside his two half-siblings, Joe and Suzy, from his mother's first marriage. In 1979, when he was four years old, the family moved to the Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Florida, when he was in the fourth grade. His father played baseball for a team in the Dominican Republic and introduced him to the sport as a child. Growing up, Rodriguez's favorite baseball players were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken Jr., and his favorite team was the New York Mets.
At the end of his freshman year at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Rodriguez transferred to Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where he was a star shortstop on the baseball team and played quarterback on the football team. In 100 games he batted .419 with 90 stolen bases. Westminster won the high school national championship in his junior year. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting .505 with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in (RBIs), and 35 stolen bases in 35 attempts in 33 games. He was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and as Gatorade's national baseball student-athlete of the year. In 1993, Rodriguez became the first high school player to try out for the United States national baseball team. He was regarded as the top prospect in the country.
Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play baseball for University of Miami and was also recruited by Miami to play quarterback for its football team. Rodriguez turned down the University of Miami baseball scholarship offer and never played college baseball, opting instead to sign with the Seattle Mariners after being selected first overall in the 1993 amateur draft at the age of 17.
Professional career
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners selected Rodriguez with the first overall selection of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. The Mariners signed him to a three-year contract worth $1.3 million, and a $1 million signing bonus.
In 1994, Rodriguez made his professional baseball debut as a minor league player with the Appleton Foxes of the Class A Midwest League. He was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns of the Double-A Southern League. He played in 17 games for Jacksonville, then was promoted to the Triple-A Calgary Cannons for 32 games before moving up to the major leagues. On July 8, Rodriguez debuted in the major leagues as a starting shortstop, just the third 18-year-old major league shortstop since 1900. He was also the first 18-year-old major league player since 1978 and the youngest position player in Seattle history. He remains the last 18-year-old to play in an MLB game, as of the end of the 2025 season. Rodriguez recorded his first major league hit when he singled off of Sergio Valdez on July 9 at Fenway Park. Rodriguez played in 17 games for the Mariners, compiling a .204 batting average, two RBIs, and three stolen bases. In August, The Mariners optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Calgary. In 32 games for Calgary, he had 37 hits in 119 at-bats for a .311 batting average. He also compiled six home runs and 21 RBIs.
Rodriguez split most of the 1995 season between the Mariners and the Tacoma Rainiers of the PCL. He hit his first major league home run off Kansas City's Tom Gordon on June 12. Rodriguez permanently joined the Mariners roster in August and got his first taste of postseason play, albeit just two at-bats. Again, he was the youngest player in MLB. During the 1995 season, Rodriguez played 48 games for Seattle, batting .232 with five home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases.
The following year, Rodriguez took over as the Mariners' regular shortstop and had his breakout season. He led the American League (AL) with a .358 batting average, the highest for an AL right-handed batter since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939 and the tenth-highest ever for a shortstop. He also had 36 home runs with 123 RBIs. At 21 years and one month, he was the third youngest AL batting leader ever behind Al Kaline (20) in 1955 and Ty Cobb (20) in 1907, and the third-youngest player in history with 35+ homers. He was also the first major league shortstop to win a batting title since 1960, and the first in the AL since 1944. At age 20 years, 11 months, he was the youngest shortstop in All-Star Game history. He also led the AL in runs (141), total bases (379), and doubles (54) and ranked among the league leaders in base hits (second, 215), extra-base hits (second, 91), multi-hit games (third, 65), slugging (fourth, .631), RBI (eighth, 123), and on-base percentage (eighth, .414). Rodriguez posted the highest totals ever for a shortstop in runs, hits, doubles, extra-base hits, and slugging, and tied most total bases, and established Seattle club records for average, runs, hits, doubles, and total bases, in a season that statistical analysts consider the best ever by a shortstop.
Texas Rangers
Rodriguez became a free agent after the 2000 season. He eventually signed with the Texas Rangers, who had just finished in last place in the AL West. The contract was at the time the most lucrative contract in sports history: a 10-year deal worth $252 million (equivalent to $471 million in 2025). The deal was worth $63 million more than the second-richest baseball deal. The contract was highly criticized, because it tied up valuable payroll space that could have been spent to improve other areas, such as pitching. Dave McNally, one of the players who had successfully challenged the reserve clause in the 1970s to create free agency in baseball, said, "My first thought when I saw [reports that Rodriguez had signed] was: Did Texas offer him $250 million and he wanted two more? How did they get to $252 million?"
In an interview eight years later, Rodriguez said he regretted signing with Texas and wished he had signed with the New York Mets instead, and that he had heeded the advice of his agent, Scott Boras. (See Opt out controversy.)
Rodriguez's power-hitting numbers improved with his move to the Texas Rangers. In his first season there, Rodriguez produced one of the top offensive seasons ever for a shortstop, leading the AL with 52 home runs, 133 runs scored, and 393 total bases. He became the first player since 1932 with 50 homers and 200 hits in a season, the third shortstop to ever lead the league in homers, and the second AL player in the last 34 seasons (beginning 1968) to lead the league in runs, homers, and total bases; his total base figure is the most ever for a major league shortstop. His 52 homers made him the sixth youngest to ever reach 50 homers and were the highest total ever by a shortstop, surpassing Ernie Banks' record of 47 in 1958, and also the most ever for an infielder other than a first baseman, breaking Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt's mark of 48 in 1980. It was his fifth 30-homer campaign, tying Banks for most ever by a shortstop. He also tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (87) and ranked third in RBIs (135) and slugging (.622). He was also among the AL leaders in hits (fourth, 201), average (seventh, .318), and on-base percentage (eighth, .399). He established Rangers club records for homers, runs, total bases, and hit by pitches, had the second-most extra-base hits, and the fourth-highest RBI total. He led the club in runs, hits, doubles (34), homers, RBI, slugging, and on-base percentage and was second in walks (75), stolen bases (18), and game-winning RBI (14) while posting career highs for homers, RBI, and total bases. Rodriguez started 161 games at shortstop and one as the DH, the only major league player to start all of his team's games in 2001.
New York Yankees
Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone suffered a knee injury while playing a game of pickup basketball that sidelined him for the entire 2004 season, creating a hole at third base.
On February 15, 2004, the Rangers traded Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later (Joaquín Árias was sent to the Rangers on March 24). The Rangers also agreed to pay $67 million of the $179 million left on Rodriguez's contract. Rodriguez agreed to switch positions from shortstop to third base, paving the way for the trade, because the popular Derek Jeter was already entrenched at shortstop. This was only the second time in MLB history that a reigning MVP was traded, with the first coming in 1914 when Eddie Collins was traded to the Chicago White Sox from the Philadelphia Athletics for cash considerations. Rodriguez also had to switch uniform numbers; he had worn 3 his entire career, but the number was retired by the Yankees in honor of Babe Ruth. Instead, Rodriguez chose to change his number to 13, in honor of Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. As a Miami native, Rodriguez had grown up watching Marino and also wore number 13 when he played quarterback in high school.
During his first season with the Yankees, Rodriguez hit .286 with 36 home runs, 106 RBIs, 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 RBIs 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 MLB since Hank Aaron did it in 13 straight seasons from 1955 to 1967, and the longest in the AL since Mickey Mantle did it also in nine straight seasons from 1953 to 1961. During the 2004 season, he also became the youngest player ever to reach 350 home runs and the third youngest to reach 1,000 RBIs. He was elected to the AL All-Star Team, the eighth All-Star selection of his career and the first as a third baseman. On July 24, 2004, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch from Bronson Arroyo, which led to a scuffle with Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, and a bench-clearing brawl between both teams. On defense, he had the lowest range factor among non-platoon AL third basemen (2.39) in his first year at the position. He finished 14th in balloting for the AL MVP Award.
In the AL Division Series (ALDS), Rodriguez was a dominant hitter against the Minnesota Twins, batting .421 and slugging .737 while delivering two key extra-inning hits. 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 ALCS, he equaled the single-game post-season record with five runs scored in Game 3 at Boston.
Media career
Television
Rodriguez became a guest judge on Shark Tank in 2017. That same year, he signed a deal with ABC News network to serve as a contributor to ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and Nightline.
Rodriguez is an MLB studio analyst for Fox Sports, working alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter. During his tenure as analyst, Fox Sports' MLB studio show won back-to-back Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Show during the network's coverage of the 2016 and 2017 postseason. Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Event Analyst in 2019. Rodriguez joined ESPN in 2018 as a Sunday Night Baseball analyst, alongside Matt Vasgersian and Buster Olney. In the 2022 season, Rodriguez moved to a simulcast on ESPN2 that he co-hosts with Michael Kay.
In January 2017, CNBC announced Rodriguez would be the host of the show Back in the Game. The first episode debuted on the network in March 2018. The series focuses on Rodriguez mentoring athletes and entertainers who have fallen on hard times. A four-episode series debuted in November 2019 and featured Evander Holyfield, Ryan Lochte, Brian Dunkleman, and Nicole Eggert.
In July 2020, it was announced that Rodriguez would be part of the judging panel for the Forbes Next 1000 list, a franchise which focuses on entrepreneurs from marginalized communities.
Rodriguez appeared in The Captain, a 2022 miniseries about Jeter's life and career. Rodriguez and Jeter discussed the rift in their friendship.
Rodriguez is the subject of the 2025 documentary series Alex vs ARod.
Advertisements
Rodriguez was featured in a 2010 Pepsi Cola commercial as a truck driver in a fleet of delivery trucks simulating players in a baseball game. At the end of the commercial when he drives his vehicle to make a catch, he is told by his approving partner in the truck that he has a future in the beverage delivery business.
Rodriguez is featured in a commercial for Guitar Hero World Tour, where he plays the guitar along with athletes Tony Hawk on drums, Kobe Bryant on vocals, and Michael Phelps on guitar. The commercial is a spoof of the scene from Risky Business where Tom Cruise is dancing to "Old Time Rock and Roll".
In 2019, Rodriguez was featured in a Planters Super Bowl commercial, where he is watching the game and about to snack on some kale chips but Mr. Peanut drives in to stop him from eating kale and instead snack on some Peanuts. In 2020, during Super Bowl LIV, Rodriguez was featured in a Presidente beer Super Bowl commercial, as well as a Hard Rock ad which also featured Jennifer Lopez.
In 2021, Rodriguez teamed up with cosmetics company Hims to launch a line of make-up for men, beginning with its first product – a concealer stick. His ex Jennifer Lopez is a co-investor. In 2022, Rodriguez appeared in a DirecTV commercial with Ortiz and former Mariners teammates Griffey Jr. and Johnson.
Criticism
Due to the unsuccessful nature of the Yankees postseasons from 2004 to 2007, along with Rodriguez's sub-.200 batting average in the postseasons of 2005 and 2006, Rodriguez drew criticism in the New York area, both from writers, such as the New York Post's Joel Sherman, and players, such as then-teammate, Jason Giambi. Prior to 2009, Rodriguez had received the nickname "The Cooler" among some players because of the perceived tendency for teams to turn cold when he joins them and hot when he leaves. According to Yankees manager Joe Torre's 2009 book, The Yankee Years, Rodriguez earned the nickname "A-Fraud" from teammates and particularly from clubhouse attendants who were said to resent his demands. "It was [said] in front of him," Torre later said of the nickname. "A lot of that stuff that went on in the clubhouse was more tongue-in-cheek, fun type stuff," he explained.
Much of the criticism regarding Rodriguez focused on his alleged inability to produce hits in clutch situations. In 2008, Rodriguez hit only .264 with runners in scoring position and two outs. In 95 plate appearances, he walked 20 times and was hit by three pitches, and he had only 19 hits. Of the 41 times Rodriguez struck out with two outs, 20 came with runners in scoring position.
Because of the Yankees' successful history, he was compared unfavorably to other Yankees greats who have performed exceptionally well in the postseason, such as Reggie Jackson. However, after his performance in the 2009 postseason, Rodriguez started receiving many positive comparisons to Reggie Jackson, even being selected as "Mr. October" by Jackson and USA Today.
Rodriguez answered many of the criticisms of his postseason performance by performing exceptionally well in the 2009 postseason, where he posted a .365 batting average and hit six home-runs in 52 at-bats during the Yankees' 15 post-season games.
Use of performance-enhancing drugs
In July 2007, former outfielder and steroid-user Jose Canseco said that he was planning to publish another book about Major League Baseball (MLB) to follow his 2005 bestseller Juiced. Canseco said his new book would have "other stuff" on Rodriguez, and called him a hypocrite. At the time, Rodriguez denied accusations of steroid use. In a 2007 interview with Katie Couric, Rodriguez flatly denied ever having used performance-enhancing drugs.
In February 2009, Selena Roberts and David Epstein of Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez had tested positive for two anabolic steroids, testosterone and Primobolan, during his 2003 season playing for the Texas Rangers, the same season in which he captured his first American League Most Valuable Player award, broke 300 career home runs (hitting 47 that year), and earned one of his ten Silver Slugger Awards. The information had been part of a government-sealed report detailing 104 major league players (out of 1200 players tested) who tested positive for performance enhancers during a 2003 drug survey. Approved by the players themselves with the promise of anonymity, the survey was conducted by MLB to see whether a mandatory drug testing program might be necessary. At the time, as the result of a collectively bargained union agreement, there was no penalty or punishment for a positive test. Because more than 5% of the samples taken from players in 2003 came back positive, mandatory testing of major league baseball players began in 2004, with penalties for violations.
The 2003 test results were supposed to remain anonymous and the samples destroyed. However, a coded master list of 104 players was seized during the BALCO investigation, turning up in a 2004 federal raid on Comprehensive Drug Testing's facility in Long Beach, California. A month later, the physical samples were seized by federal agents raiding Quest Diagnostics in Las Vegas, Nevada. The list of the 104 positive-testing players was released to the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) in 2004. The players' union later said that the 104 positive samples were in the process of being destroyed when they were subpoenaed by federal authorities in November 2003, making continued destruction "improper."
Although testosterone is available by prescription for some uses, Primobolan has no approved prescription use. Also known as methenolone or metenolone enanthate, it is the same steroid that Barry Bonds is alleged to have tested positive for in 2000 and 2001. A fairly weak steroid on its own, it is generally used in conjunction with other steroids. The drug is generally preferred in injected rather than oral form due to its cost. An official statement by MLB made shortly after Rodriguez's test results became public expressed "grave concern" without naming Rodriguez, noting that "because the survey testing that took place in 2003 was intended to be non-disciplinary and anonymous, we can not make any comment on the accuracy of this report as it pertains to the player named."
Biogenesis scandal
Between 2010 and 2012, Rodriguez reportedly received HGH from Biogenesis of America, an anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Florida, run by Bosch. For much of the summer of 2013, it had been expected that Rodriguez would be suspended for his role in the scandal. The first definitive confirmation came on August 3, 2013, when MLB rebuffed the players' union's last-minute offer to negotiate. Instead, it allowed Rodriguez until the afternoon of August 4 to reach an agreement regarding a suspension or greater punishment for his role in the Biogenesis affair.
On August 5, MLB suspended Rodriguez from August 8 through the end of the 2014 season for violating the league's PED policy, a term that was to include a total of 211 regular-season games plus any postseason games. He was one of 13 players suspended for their roles in the scandal. In its official statement, MLB announced that the suspension was based on Rodriguez's "use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years" and "for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation." Although the standard punishment for a first offense under MLB's drug policy is 50 games, MLB had the option of suspending Rodriguez for a longer term under the collective bargaining agreement if it had determined that his actions constituted conduct detrimental to baseball.
Almost immediately after the suspension was announced, Rodriguez announced that he would appeal. He was the only player to do so; the others accepted season-ending 50-game suspensions without appeal. Although MLB commissioner Bud Selig had the option of using his best-interests-of-baseball powers to remove Rodriguez from the field immediately, he chose to suspend Rodriguez under the drug agreement and not the CBA, allowing Rodriguez to continue playing while the appeal was under way. The proposed suspension would include a global lock clause, which would also prevent him from playing in other known leagues, such as Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Championship, as the leagues in those nations honor any suspensions imposed by MLB. Rodriguez hired New York criminal defense lawyer Joe Tacopina.
A lengthy arbitration process followed, but the suspension was upheld on January 11, 2014. However, because Rodriguez was allowed to play during the appeal process, this effectively reduced the suspension to 162 games, the entirety of the 2014 regular-season schedule. Because Rodriguez was on the suspended list retroactive through August 31, the suspension would have included the postseason if the Yankees had qualified, although the team failed to reach the playoffs. Rodriguez issued a statement announcing that he would challenge the decision in federal court. On February 7, 2014, Rodriguez announced his decision to abandon his lawsuit and accept the suspension for the 2014 season. In March 2014, multiple sources reported that Rodriguez had refused to pay the balance of his legal fees, which amounted to more than $3 million. In July 2014, Rodriguez was sued by his lawyers for $380,000 in unpaid legal fees.
A-Rod Corp
Rodriguez founded A-Rod Corp, a holding company, in 1996 and the company began making its first investments in 2003. Through the company, Rodriguez has invested in a series of companies in the technology, real estate, wellness, and entertainment industries. In 2008, Rodriguez founded Newport Property Construction, a real-estate development firm.
In 2012, he founded Monument Capital Management, which has acquired more than $1 billion of real estate assets in 16 states.
Investments
A-Rod Corp has invested in various companies including coconut water brand Vita Coco, Wheels Up, Snapchat, and virtual concert startup Wave.
Rodriguez partnered with Mark Mastrov in 2012 to create the Energy Fitness gym chain in Mexico City. Rodriguez sold a Mercedes-Benz dealership in League City, Texas, to Group 1 Automotive in 2014.
Rodriguez invested in NRG Esports alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Jimmy Rollins in 2016. In 2017, A-Rod Corp gained the rights to develop UFC-branded fitness centers across southern Florida. That year, A-Rod Corp purchased a major equity stake in TruFusion, a Las Vegas-based fitness studio chain, and invested in the beverage brand Dirty Lemon.
In 2018, A-Rod Corp invested in Petros Pace Finance, a financier of green development.
In 2019, the company invested in the co-living startup Bungalow, Acorns and Sonder. That year, Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez partnered with telehealth company Hims and Hers to provide affordable healthcare. Rodriguez also invested in Density, a technology company specializing in people counting.
Rodriguez became the new chairman of Presidente, a Dominican beer company owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, in January 2020. A-Rod Corp invested in Nova Credit, a financial technology company, in February 2020.
In July 2020, Rodriguez and Lopez were leading a group of investors bidding on the New York Mets, and had moved to the second stage of the bidding process. The bid failed, however.
Rodriguez and Marc Lore agreed to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association in 2021. Then-owner Glen Taylor said in 2024 that Rodriguez and Lore missed a payment to purchase the team, which was no longer for sale. Rodriguez and Lore won an arbitration ruling in 2025 to allow them to purchase the team from Taylor. The purchase, valuing the team at $1.5 billion, was completed in June 2025.
The Corp Podcast
Rodriguez partnered with Barstool Sports in 2018 to co-create The Corp Podcast with Dan Katz aka Barstool Big Cat. The podcast interviews industry leaders, athletes, and entrepreneurs. Season 1 featured Kobe Bryant, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Mike Francesa, Michael Rubin and Barry Sternlicht. Season 2 featured Kevin Bacon, Martha Stewart, Danica Patrick, Stephanie McMahon, Maria Bartiromo, and Howard Schultz.
Personal life
Rodriguez grew up with two half-siblings, Joe and Suzy, who were born in the Dominican Republic and are children from his mother's first marriage. Rodriguez's father, Victor, left the family in Miami when Alex was nine years old and moved to New York. The next time that Alex heard from him, was the day of the 1993 MLB draft. They met again in 2000.
Rodriguez also has a half-brother, Victor M. Rodriguez, who was born to Alex's father Victor Sr. and his then-wife Pouppe Martinez in 1960. The couple divorced a year later, and Victor Jr. grew up with his mother. Victor Jr., who is an officer in the United States Air Force, fell out of touch with Alex for 23 years, until they met at a Texas Rangers game in 2003. Alex's nephew, Joe Dunand, was a professional baseball player.
In 2002, Alex Rodriguez and Cynthia Scurtis, a psychology graduate he had met at a gym in Miami, married. Their first child was born on November 18, 2004. On April 21, 2008, Cynthia gave birth to their second child in Miami.
Cynthia Rodriguez filed for divorce on July 7, 2008, citing "emotional abandonment" of her and their children, "extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct" by her husband. Alex responded in court documents that the marriage was "irretrievably broken" but requested that allegations of his "extramarital affairs" be stricken from court records. The couple reached a settlement that September. In July, Madonna responded to rumors of an affair with Alex releasing a statement saying, "I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez" and that she had "nothing to do with the state of his marriage". Alex dated Kate Hudson before having a relationship with Cameron Diaz from May 2010 to September 2011. He dated model, actress, and former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson from 2011 to 2014. Then, he was in a short relationship with Anne Wojcicki, the founder of 23andMe, which ended in 2016 after dating for nearly a year.
In February 2017, he and singer and actress Jennifer Lopez began dating. In March 2019, they announced their engagement. In a 2020 interview with Devin Banerjee, Rodriguez described Lopez as "a powerhouse" saying, "I've never met anyone who has the work ethic, the vision, the principles that Jennifer possesses. She does so many things that people call her a triple threat. I call her an octopus threat." In April 2021, he and Lopez announced the end of their engagement.
Philanthropy
In 2003, Rodriguez gave $3.9 million to the University of Miami to renovate its baseball stadium. The new facility was renamed "Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field". He is an ardent Miami Hurricanes fan. Despite not having attended the school, he received the university's Edward T. Foote II Alumnus of Distinction Award in 2007 as an honorary alumnus. Rodriguez was named an "honorary alumnus" of the university in 2004. He is a member of the university's board of trustees. In 2017, Rodriguez and A-Rod Corp donated $500,000 to the university's School of Business Administration.
Rodriguez is a Miami-Dade Boys & Girls Clubs Board Member. Rodriguez and A-Rod Corp donated $1 million to Boy & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade in 2010, building a state-of-the-art educational center for students. He donated an additional $1 million to Boys & Girls Club in conjunction with MLB. In addition, Rodriguez created a scholarship program for Boys and Girls Club alumni to attend the University of Miami, sponsoring more than 25 students since inception of the program.
In October 2019, Rodriguez, along with Jennifer Lopez, donated a year of prepared meals to Tennessee elementary students. In April 2020, Rodriguez and Lopez donated 20,000 prepared meals to help hospitality workers in the Miami area who had lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also a member of the Paley Center for Media's board of trustees.
Awards and honors
Rodriguez was included on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2022 when it was announced on November 22, 2021. In his first three years of eligibility, his highest vote total is 35.7%. The threshold for election is 75%.
Major league, minor league, and high school awards and exhibition team selections
1st Team High School All-American at infield (1993)
14× American League (AL) All-Star
7× as shortstop (1996–98, 2000–03)
7× as third baseman (2004–08, 2010–11)
3× AL Most Valuable Player Award (2003, 2005, 2007)
Babe Ruth Award (2009)
3× Babe Ruth Home Run Award (2002, 2003, 2007)
Baseball America 1st-Team Minor League All-Star at shortstop (1995)
4× Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star
3× at shortstop (1998, 2000–03)
at third base (2005)
2× Baseball America Major League Player of the Year (2000, 2002)
Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year (1993)
GIBBY/This Year in Baseball Awards for Hitter of the Year (2007)
GIBBY/This Year in Baseball Awards for Individual Performance of the Year (2005)
Achievements
Notes: Per Baseball-Reference.com.
Records
†: Rodriguez hit 2 home runs as a DH in 2007.
