Timeline and Biography of Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez, also known by the nickname A-Rod, is a professional baseball player, currently playing for the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also represented teams like Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. With a batting average of .306 and 550 plus home runs to his credit, Alex has undoubtedly been one of the stars of Major League Baseball, and like many of them, he has also had his own share of controversies. Here is a brief summary of his life.

Timeline and Biography of Alex Rodriguez

1975: Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975 in New York, United States.

1993: A top-class performance as a star shortstop for Westminster Christian High School, Miami, facilitated Alex to become the first high school player in the United States to try entering the Team USA.

1994: At the age of 18, Alex made his Major League Baseball debut on July 8, 1994 for the Seattle Mariners and thus became the youngest player to to make a Major League debut in 10 years.

1996: A-Rod lost out by just three votes to finish 2nd in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) contest, one of the league's most coveted accolades, losing out to Juan Gonzalez, in an election that was considered to be very controversial.

1998: Alex achieved the 40-40 feat in Major League Baseball with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases, becoming the third player to have done so. In the same year, he hit his 100th career home run. His 42 home runs for the year went on record in the annals of baseball history, as the highest number of home runs in a single season.
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2000: Alex became a free agent and signed a ten-year contract with the Texas Rangers for a record $252 million and became the highest paid athlete in the sports history of America.

2002: Alex became the second youngest player in the history of the game to reach a record 250 home runs on April 30, 2002. The same year, on November 2, he married Cynthia Scurtis.

2004: Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias on February 15, 2004. In the same year, Cynthia gave birth to their first child, Natasha Alexander on November 18.

2005: Alex hit a record 26 home runs in Yankee stadium, breaking the previous record of 25 home runs jointly held by Joe DiMaggio and Gary Sheffield. In the same year, he went on to become the youngest player to hit 400 home runs.

2007: A home run against pitcher Kyle Davies, in a match against the Kansas City Royals, made A-Rod the youngest player to hit 500 career home runs, at the age of 32 years and 8 days. Later in the year, he opted out from the Yankees sparking a controversy which attracted widespread criticism.

2008: Alex's wife Cynthia gave birth to their second child Ella Alexander on April 21, 2008 in Miami, Florida. The couple separated in July, the same year, citing personal reasons.

2009: A-Rod admitted using performance enhancing steroids from 2001 to 2003, citing "an enormous amount of pressure to perform".

Over a career span of more than 15 years, A-Rod has seen both fame as well as criticism coming his way. He has experienced cheering as well as jeering from every corner of the stadium. Overall, he has truly become a celebrity one can either love or hate, but can't ignore.