A-Rod's Years as a Seattle Mariner
Alex Rodriguez First Became a Superstar in the Pacific Northwest
Alex Rodriguez was the most celebrated baseball prospect in history, and in his early years with the Seattle Mariners, he quickly showed why he deserved that distinction.
Alex Rodriguez first gained prominence as a baseball and football star at Miami's Westminster Christian High School. In his senior year, he quarterbacked the football team to a state championship and led the baseball team with a .505 batting average, 9 home runs, 36 RBI, and 35 steals in only 33 games.
Prior to graduation, Rodriguez made history as the youngest player in history to be asked to try out for Team USA, which he did at the tender age of 17. By the time draft day rolled around, he was regarded as the top prospect in the country, and he had been offered a full scholarship to play baseball and football at the University of Miami. Instead he opted to enter the baseball draft, and when the Mariners picked him first, any thoughts of playing college ball (in either sport) quickly went by the wayside.
A Brief Minor League Career
A-Rod's minor league career was brief but spectacular. In 1994, he climbed from single-A to triple A in a matter of months. Altogether, he played 114 games and hit .312 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI. By July, the organization decided that he was ready for the big time, so they called him up to the majors, where he started his first game on July 8, 1994. The next day he collected his first big league hit, a single off Sergio Valdez of the Boston Red Sox. His year was cut short, however, when baseball went on strike in early August.
The next year Rodriguez split time between the Mariners and the minor leagues. He was called up for good in early September, played in a total of 65 games, and saw limited action in the playoffs against the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.
He became a full-time major league player in 1996. Just 20 years old and in his first complete season, the kid won the batting title with a .358 batting average, which was the highest mark for a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939. It was also the third best ever for a shortstop. Although he finished second in the MVP voting to Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez certainly gave Mariners fans a lot to anticipate.
In 1997, A-Rod batted .300 with 23 homers and 84 RBI. Despite the noticeable dip in average and power, Rodriguez showed great speed by swiping 29 bases in just 35 attempts. He was also voted to start the All-Star game at shortstop for the American League; it was the first time in thirteen years that anyone other than Cal Ripken started at short for the junior circuit. But 1997 was just a dress rehearsal for A-Rod's first truly great season, which came in 1998.
That year, he became just the third player in major league history to hit more than 40 homers and steal more than 40 bases in the same season. He finished the year with a .310 batting average, 42 home runs, 124 RBI and 46 stolen bases. Despite his remarkable numbers, Rodriguez finished just ninth in MVP voting.
Things continued as expected for Rodriguez in 1999, when he made his fourth straight All-Star team, hit 42 homers and drove in 111 runs.
But things were changing in Seattle. The team had traded away its ace, Randy Johnson, midway through the 1998 season, and then lost Ken Griffey to free agency after the 1999 campaign.
So Rodriguez entered 2000 as Seattle's franchise player, and showed that he was up to the task: he hit 41 home runs with 132 RBI and had a .316 batting average. He also set a career high for walks (100) and became the first and only shortstop to have 100 runs, RBI, and walks in the same season. He hit very well in the playoffs (a .409 batting average and .773 slugging percentage), but Seattle lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series in six games.
At the end of the 2000 season Rodriguez was still only twenty-four years old, but he had already hit 189 home runs, collected 595 RBI, scored 627 runs and stolen 133 bases.
When the season ended, A-Rod entered the free agent market and quickly became the most sought-after player in baseball history. The Mets, Yankees, Mariners and Red Sox all made attempts to hire him, but the Texas Rangers stunned everyone when they signed the slugger to a ten year, $252 million deal. At the time, it was the richest contract in baseball history.
Alex Rodriguez's Years With the Texas Rangers
