By Michelle Dumas
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed “A-Rod“, is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. 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 was part of a failed attempt to purchase a controlling interest in the National Basketball Association‘s Minnesota Timberwolves. 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, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards. Rodriguez is also the career record holder for grand slams. He twice broke the record for the largest sports contract ever signed. He also admitted using banned performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003 and was consequently suspended for the entire 2014 season. Rodriguez is ranked first in career Wins Above Replacement for shortstops of the modern era (post–1901).
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, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003, but the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure. 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 helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, which was 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 baseball 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 1, a cast member of Shark Tank and a member of the ABC News network. In January 2018, ESPN announced that Rodriguez would be joining the broadcast team of Sunday Night Baseball. In January 2017, CNBC announced Rodriguez would be the host of the show Back In The Game, where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives; the first episode debuted on the network in March 2018.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Celebrated on the fourth Saturday in July, this is a day to explore cowboy culture and heritage and to acknowledge the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls across the United States
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- James I of Aragon –
- Robert Dinwiddie (British statesman, lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia) –
- Reggie Lewis (basketball player) –
- Bob Hope (comedian & actor) –
- Morrie R. Yohai (creator of Cheez Doodles) –
- Nabire (northern white rhino) –
- Sam Shepard (actor & playwright) –
Born
- Alexandre Dumas, fils (dramatist, son of Alexandre Dumas) –
- Cyrus Eidlitz (architect) –
- Gérard Côté (Canadian marathon runner) –
- Elizabeth Hardwick (author) –
- Norman Lear (television screenwriter and producer) –
- Jerry Van Dyke (actor) –
- Peggy Fleming (ice skater) –
- Alex Rodriguez (baseball player) –
- Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (actor) –
Events
- Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs (later renamed Department of State)–
- The Atlantic Cable was completed, establishing communication by telegraph between England and the U.S.–
- Researchers led by biochemist Frederick Banting announced the discovery of the hormone insulin–
- Bugs Bunny made his cartoon debut–
- Colonel Joseph Duckworth piloted the first plane that purposely flew into the center of a hurricane–
- The United States, China, North Korea, and South Korea signed an armistice agreement, ending the Korean War–
- An earthquake in Sharpsburg, Kentucky, measured 5.2 on the Richter scale–
- Big traffic jam in Boston–
- The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated, Washington, D.C.–
- In Atlanta, Georgia, a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics–
- At the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Canadian Donovan Bailey won the men’s 100-meter dash in 9.84 seconds, setting a world record–
Weather
- Severe thunderstorms in Yuma, Arizona, created zero visibility due to dust blowing in the 90 mph winds–
- Several inches of snow fell on Glacier National Park, Big Sky ski area (both in Montana), and a Jackson Hole, Wyoming ski area–
- EF-1 tornado touched down in southwestern New Hampshire, causing significant damage in Dublin, home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
