Alex Rodriguez Bio: Net Worth, College, ESPN, Wife & Kids

Alex Rodriguez | Early Life, Family, and Education

Alex Rodriguez was born in Manhattan, New York City, the United States. His parents are Victor Rodriguez and Lourdes Rodriguez.

Furthermore, his father was a former baseball player in his hometown, the Dominican Republic. He was also a big fan of the New York Mets.

Victor’s drive and love for the game attracted Alex to baseball. Moreover, the father often taught young Rodriguez to hit and catch. He owned and worked at a shoe store in Manhattan before they moved to the Dominican Republic.

After three years, they relocated to Miami, where the MLB player attended Westminster Christian High School. However, the athlete’s parents divorced a few years later. Then he was solely raised by his mother.

The former shortstop grew up alongside his older half-siblings Joe Dunand and Suzy Dunand. Alex’s mother worked two jobs to keep the family of four afloat.

Lourdes was a secretary at the local immigration office and also waited tables at a restaurant.

The successful athlete credits his mother for his work ethic. Besides that, Rodriguez also has an older half-brother Victor Rodriguez Jr. who served in the United States Air Force.

In school, his coach served as a fatherly figure for him and encouraged him to pursue baseball.

Correspondingly, he was an exceptional baseball player. He had many college offers while in school.

Although he committed to join the University of Miami to play collegiate baseball, he entered the 1993 MLB Draft. The Seattle Mariners drafted him in the first round.

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Alex Rodriguez | Age, Height, and Weight

The businessman player recently turned 45 years old. As a former athlete, he takes excellent care of his health and diet.

Moreover, he works out daily. Rodriguez is quite fit and healthy for a guy in his mid-40s. Besides that, he is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 229 lbs, i.e., 104 kg.

Alex Rodriguez | Baseball And Other Career

MLB Career

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners drafted Rodriguez as the first pick overall in the 1993 MLB Draft. He did not attend college and got straight into the league after high school.

Hence, he was one of the youngest players in the Seattle team’s history. Shortly after, Alex showed the team his true potential.

He was one of the first shortstops in the franchise and American League history to win a batting title.

A-rod also won the Silver Slugger Award four times while playing with the Mariners. Furthermore, the athlete was the Players Choice AL Player of the Year.

Besides that, he assisted his team in the 2000 American League Champion Series. There he faced the legendary team, the New York Yankees. Although he set a career-high for walks, runs, and RBIs, the Yankees defeated the Mariners.

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Texas Rangers

Following the defeat in the 2000 American League, the former shortstop became a free agent. The businessman signed one of the richest deals in baseball history, worth $252 million for ten years.

However, he expressed his regret over taking the deal years later. Furthermore, the baseballer wished he had listened to his agent and joined the New York Mets.

Nevertheless, he became the first player to ace the league in Home Runs (HR), Runs Batted In (RBI), and total bases. He also won the Babe Ruth Home Run Award and Gold Glove Award twice as a Ranger.

Besides that, he was the American League’s Most Valuable Player. The former Mariners parted ways with the Texas team in 2003 after the MLB Association vetoed his deal. After that, the Rangers traded him to the New York Yankees.

New York Yankees

The MLB player signed with the Yankees for $179 million that would pay him $67 million in salary. He also agreed to switch from shortstop to the third baseman as the legendary Derek Jeter was the Yankees shortstop.

Furthermore, he changed his jersey number from 3 to 13 as the Yankees’ 3 was retired in Babe Ruth’s honor.

The athlete won his second and third AL MVP Award in 2005 and 2007 as a Yankee. Moreover, he was an All-Star six times with the team. Alex also won his first and only series in 2009.

Likewise, he was the recipient of the Silver Slugger Award three times after joining the team.

However, he was also at the center of several controversies while playing for them. The athlete was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs and was involved in the Biogenesis scandal.

Correspondingly, he received several criticizations from fans and media for his performance from 2004 to 2007.

Many people called him ‘Mr. Cooler’ because whenever he joined a team, their performance turned cold, and as soon as he’d leave, they would do well again.

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Media Personality And Analyst Career

After a long career with the Yankees, Alex chose to take a break in 2016 to spend some needed quality time with his family and friends.

Nevertheless, the former shortstop remained a close and special advisor to the Yankees owner. He then moved onto have a career in media.

The businessman appeared as a guest judge in the business reality television series Shark Tank.

Besides that, the former Yankee signed a deal with ABC News through which he served in GMA, Nightline, etc. Furthermore, he worked as an analyst for Fox Sports and ESPN.

During his tenure with Fox, Rodriguez was an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio, and Sports Events, Analyst.

Moreover, he hosted Back in the Game for the CNBC network. He also judged Forbes’ Next 1000 list.

Business

The MLB player is the founder of A-rod Corp. Through the company, he has invested in several companies.

Some of them are Vita Coco, Snapchat, Wheels Up, Wave, Petros Pace Finance, etc. Furthermore, he has funded startups, Acorn and Sonder Corp.

He has also invested in American professional esports organization NRG Esports, alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Rollins.

The baseballer has also financed fitness studio TruFusion, beverage brand Dirty Lemon, and Dominican Beer Company Presidente.

Moreover, Alex has partnered with Jennifer Lopez to contribute to the Him and her company to provide affordable healthcare. Recently this year, he invested in a financial technology company called Nova Credit.

Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs

During Rodriguez’s play career, several rumors were swirling around about his potential drug use. Initially, the former athlete denied all the allegations.

Former MLB player Joe Canseco hinted to write about Alex in his next book about steroid use.

A-rod unreservedly denied all the allegations and stated that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

However, his statements quickly came back to haunt him. Sports Illustrated revealed that the player was one of 104 players who tested positive for drugs in 2003.

He was found to have anabolic steroids, testosterone, and Primobolan while playing for the Rangers. Since there were no penalties for drug violations, MLB took no strict actions against the players.

Eventually, the MLB shortstop admitted to using banned substances from 2001 to 2003. Nevertheless, he ensured that he was clean while playing for the Yankees. He blamed the substance abuse on his age and said that he was young and naive.

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Biogenesis Scandal

Alex was also a huge face in the Biogenesis Scandal. An anti-aging clinic in America called Biogenesis was accused of injecting MLB players with Human Growth Hormone (HGH).

As a result, A-rod became one of many baseball players who were suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season.

He went through a lengthy process of opposing the decision. Moreover, he took the matters to federal court with lawyer Joe Tacopina. Although Rodriguez appealed the decision from MLB, he later accepted his suspension.

Alex Rodriguez | Relationship And Kids

The former MLB player is in a relationship with Jennifer Lopez. She is well-known by her nickname J.Lo and is an actress, singer, and businesswoman. Furthermore, she is a fashion designer and businesswoman.

The pair initially met at a baseball game where A-rod was playing for the Yankees. However, at the moment, Jennifer was married to her ex-husband Marc Anthony.

The couple met accidentally after twelve years at a restaurant. Shortly after, they started dating.

The two recently announced their engagement and are preparing for the Rodriguez-Lopez wedding. Besides that, the former athlete was married to Cynthia Scurtis.

They met at the gym. Together the former pair have two daughters named Natasha Alexander and Ella Alexander.

Alex Rodriguez | Net Worth And Salary

Through years of career in the Major Baseball League, the former shortstop has built an impressive wealth amount. He is the Major League’s all-time highest earner. 

He earned almost $441 million from baseball alone. On top of that, A-rod earned over $40 million from endorsements.

Moreover, he used to earn $33 million per year in salary at the peak of his career. Besides that, he had one of the largest contracts in the sports world, worth $252 million. The former athlete still earns a great deal from his investments and companies.

Alex Rodriguez | Social Media Presence

The former Yankee is quite active on social media platforms. He has an Instagram account with 3.9 million followers. Furthermore, you can quickly gather from his account that he is a family guy. He has a lot of photos of his kids and fiancé.

Besides that, he has posed for photos alongside legendary player LeBron James and lawmaker Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Moreover, he has a Twitter account with 1.2 million followers. He shares and tweets about a lot of baseball-related news.

Common Queries:

What years did Alex Rodriguez win MVP?

The former Ranger won the American League’s Most Valuable Player title three times in the entirety of his MLB career.

He won his first MVP title in 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Thereafter he went on to win the title two more times while playing for the New York Yankees. He was the MVP in 2005 and 2007.

Is Alex Rodriguez Hispanic?

Yes, Alex is Hispanic. Although he was born in New York City, his parents are from the Dominican Republic.

The former athlete is quite proud of his Hispanic roots and of being a Latin. He makes a conscious effort to teach and pass on his culture to his children.

How many Home Runs does Alex Rodriguez have?

Alex, in total, has 696 Runs.

What Position did Alex Rodriguez Play?

Alex Plays for Shortstop, Designated hitter, Infielder.