| Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27th, 1975, in New York. Alex was the youngest of three children born to Lourdes and Victor Rodriguez, Joe and Suzy being the other two. In 1994, the Seattle Mariners chose the 17-year-old Rodriguez first overall in the baseball draft. At age 18, Alex became one of the youngest players ever to play in the major leagues. In 1995, Alex played in 48 games with the Mariners and batted .264. His play impressed the manager so much that he was awarded the starting shortstop position the following year. The 1996 season was A-Rod's breakout season. He batted .358, with 36 home runs and 123 runs batted in. Rodriguez finished runner-up in the MVP voting and cemented himself as the best power hitting shortstop in the majors. In 1997, Rodriguez's offensive numbers dropped off, as he only drove in 84 runs and hit 23 round trippers. In the end, Rodriguez became famous for signing the largest baseball deal, but he became equally infamous for being part of a trade that included more cash than any other in baseball history.
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