Full name is Alexander Enmanuel Rodriguez... has two daughters, Natasha (4) and Ella (born April 2008)... signed by Fernando Arguelles... had outstanding three-year career at Westminster Christian High School in Miami, Fla. (graduated in 1993)... batted .419 with 17HR, 70RBI and 90SB in 100 games as team went 86-13-1... was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting .505 with 9HR, 36RBI and 35SB (in 35 attempts) in 33 games... selected as the USA Baseball Junior "Player of the Year" and as Gatorade's "National Baseball Student Athlete of the Year"... was the first high school player to try out for Team USA in 1993 and also play with U.S. Junior National Squad that summer... participated in Little League and American Legion programs... also played basketball and football in high school... hobbies include basketball, golf and boating... favorite players growing up were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy and Cal Ripken, Jr...Joined the Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade in 1982 at the age of 7 and remained a member until the day he was drafted in 1993... since reaching the Major Leagues, Alex has worked extensively with the Boys & Girls Club of Miami, dedicating time, effort and resources toward its continued development... created the Alex Rodriguez Evening with the All-Stars in 1998... five benefits have since been hosted, raising over $500,000 dollars for the Club... in addition, Alex personally pledged $500,000 dollars in 2007 to the Alex Rodriguez Learning Center which is tentatively scheduled to open during the Spring of 2009... the 10,000 square foot educational facility for the advancement of literacy, computer study and math, will include a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, art room, library, classrooms for homework study and a teen center... is one of three national spokespersons for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and actor Denzel Washington... championed Campaign 3 p.m., which is the Boys & Girls Clubs national initiative to enroll every child in America in an after-school program... hosted a two-hour clinic at the Boys & Girls Club in November 2007 for approximately 85 youngsters between the ages of 9 and 14 on a field named after himself...In January of 2003, Alex donated $3.9 million dollars to the University of Miami... the money was directed to construction costs stemming from the remodeling of the baseball stadium, as well as scholarship money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami Dade... one student from the Club will be awarded a four-year scholarship to the University each year... the scholarship will be awarded in perpetuity, so an unlimited number of children benefit from this donation... in 2005, Alex donated $200,000 to the Children's Aid Society, a New York City-based children's advocacy and charity group... his donation supported the placement of therapists into schools located in Washington Heights-the neighborhood in which Alex was born... the donation will fund the project for an entire school year... also in 2005, Alex donated $50,000 to the Dominican Republic branch of UNICEF... this donation fully funded five day-care centers outside of Santo Domingo... these five centers were able to purchase enough school supplies, food and personal hygiene products for one full year, with over 1,500 students benefiting from his contribution...Is dedicated to positively impacting families in distress by supporting programs focusing on improved quality of life, education and mental health... teamed up with hip-hop icon Jay-Z on 11/15/06 to host a celebrity poker tournament with over $500,000 in proceeds going to charitable endeavors of both men... co-hosted Family Fun Day at the Miami Seaquarium in January 2007 with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida... authored a children's picture book in February 2007, "Out of the Ballpark," published in English and Spanish... hosted a book signing at FAO Schwartz in Manhattan on 7/20/07 and read to a group of 9 year olds... participated in a Q & A session with Michael Kay for 500 kids from local community groups at Niketown in New York on 8/1/07... hosted his 7th annual AROD Classic Charity Basketball Tournament in December 2008 in Miami, featuring schools from New York City, Philadelphia and Southern Florida...Received a 2007 Thurman Munson Award for his accomplishments on the field and his philanthropic work within the community... was also honored with the 2008 Sid Mercer Award, presented by the New York chapter of the BBWAA to their "Player of the Year"... was presented the Key to the City by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on 8/16/07 during an on-field, pregame ceremony in recognition of his 500th home run...Was presented with a plaque by the United Youth Baseball League on 4/4/08 after donating $10,000 to the league to help pay for field fees, insurance and uniforms for the kids... spoke to 2,000 local Bronx kids about the importance of education and practice in life at Macombs Dam Park, adjacent to the new Yankee Stadium in July 2008... held a hitting clinic at a youth sports complex in Mexico City in November 2008...Donated $250,000 towards the completion of the new Pediatric Outpatient Unit at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York City in 2008, aimed at providing quality medical attention for local children who are not covered by insurance... also pledged another $250,000 over the next five years to fund the Community DentCare Network from the Columbia University College of Dentistry, sponsoring mobile vans in the Bronx and Washington Heights areas that provide dental care and education to those who cannot otherwise afford it... pledged an annual donation to the Bronx-based Glory of Christ Church in memory of Bobby Murcer who was an annual supporter of the church's soup kitchen prior to his passing in 2008...

Hit .302 (154-for-510) with 104R, 33 doubles, 35HR, 103RBI and 18SB in 138 games with the Yankees in 2008 (131 starts at 3B, seven at DH)... played in his fewest games since 1999 (129), missing 24 team games, four more than the total number of games (20) he missed over the previous seven seasons combined (credit: Elias Sports Bureau)...Led the American League with a .573 slugging percentage, ranked third with 35HR and a 14.6 AB/ HR ratio, fourth with 14HBP, tied for fifth with 104R, fifth with a .392 on-base percentage, seventh with a .316 average vs. right-handed pitchers and a .339 day batting average, tied for eighth with 103RBI, ninth with a 5.0 AB/RBI ratio and 10th with a .324 home batting average... finished eighth in AL MVP voting...Ranks 12th on Baseball's all-time list with 553 career homers, behind Reggie Jackson (11th place - 563 career HR)... in 2008, passed Hall of Famers Ted Williams (521), Willie McCovey (521), Jimmie Foxx (534), Mickey Mantle (536) and Mike Schmidt (548)... ranks 11th on the Yankees' all-time list with 208 career homers in pinstripes...Reached 30 home runs for the 11th consecutive season and 12th time in his career... only two players have hit at least 30HR in more consecutive seasons: Barry Bonds (13) and Jimmie Foxx (12)... is tied with Jimmie Foxx for the fifth-most 30-homer seasons all-time behind Hank Aaron (15), Bonds (14), Mike Schmidt (13) and Babe Ruth (13)... according to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two players have hit more home runs over a span of 11 seasons than Rodriguez (489, 1998- 2008)-Babe Ruth (516, 1920-30) and Sammy Sosa (504, 1994-2004)... reached the 20HR plateau for the 13th consecutive season, tied with six other players for the ninth-longest streak in Major League history behind Hank Aaron (20), Babe Ruth (16), Barry Bonds (15), Chipper Jones (14), Eddie Mathews (14), Rafael Palmeiro (14), Mike Schmidt (14) and Manny Ramirez (14)-credit: Elias Sports Bureau...Became the first player in Major League history to hit 35 home runs in 11 straight seasons, surpassing Sammy Sosa (10 straight from 1995-2004)... recorded at least 35HR and 100RBI for the 12th different season (1996; '98-2008), passing Babe Ruth (11 seasons - 1920-21; '23-24; '26-32) for the most such years in Major League history...Extended his Major League records with his 11th consecutive season (and 12th season overall) with at least 35HR, 100R and 100RBI...Reached the 100RBI and 100R plateaus for the 11th consecutive season (since 1998), trailing only Lou Gehrig all time (13 straight seasons from 1926-38)... scored 100R for the 13th consecutive season, joining Hank Aaron (13, 1955-67) and Gehrig (13, 1926-38) as the only players in Baseball history to accomplish the feat... Rodriguez' streak of 11 consecutive seasons with at least 30HR and 100RBI is second all time to Jimmie Foxx' 12 (1929- 40)...Is one of five players all time with 400 doubles, 400HR and 250SB, joining Barry Bonds (601/762/514), Willie Mays (523/660/338), Andre Dawson (503/448/314) and Gary Sheffield (454/499/251)...According to the Elias Sports Bureau, recorded his fourth consecutive season (2005-08) of hitting 20-or-more home runs at Yankee Stadium... only Babe Ruth (six straight seasons) had a longer such stretch in original Yankee Stadium history (1926-31)... batted .324 (60-for-185) with 17HR and 47RBI in his last 50 games at Yankee Stadium beginning 6/7...Over the last 10 seasons (1999-2008), leads the Major Leagues with 1,222R, 447HR and 1,254RBI, ranks third with 1,529 games played and fourth with 5,790AB... over the last five seasons (2004-08), leads the Majors with 596R and 208HR and ranks second with 616RBI...Played in 431 career games at Yankee Stadium, marking the fifth-highest total among New York City-born players, behind Lou Gehrig (1,080), Phil Rizzuto (825), Joe Pepitone (525) and Snuffy Stirnweiss (442), according to the Elias Sports Bureau...Was named to his 12th All-Star team, marking his 11th selection via the fan vote and fifth overall selection as a third baseman... tallied the most votes in the Majors (3,934,518) for the second straight season, becoming the first back-to-back leader since Ichiro Suzuki (three seasons, 2001-03)... was 0-for-2 in the 15-inning AL victory on 7/15 at Yankee Stadium, starting at 3B...Following the season, was named to the 2008 Sporting News AL All-Star team, which was selected by a panel of 41 general managers and assistant general managers from both leagues... also earned his 10th career Silver Slugger Award...Made his fifth straight Opening Day start at 3B for the Yankees-the 13th OD start of his career-and was 2-for-3 with 1R, 1 double, 1RBI and 1BB in 4/1 win vs. Toronto... started his fifth straight Opening Day at third base with Derek Jeter at shortstop, becoming the first pair of Yankees to start on the left side of the infield in five consecutive years since Graig Nettles and Bucky Dent started six consecutive from 1977-82...Was 0-for-4 in 4/8 loss at Kansas City, striking out a career-high-tying four times for the fourth time in his career (third as a Yankee, first since 8/25/06 at Los Angeles-AL)...Recorded his 400th career double in 4/15 win at Tampa Bay, going 1-for-5 with 1R and 1 double...Was placed on the 15-day D.L. from 4/30-5/20 with a strained right quadriceps (missed 16 team games, Yankees were 6-10)... was his first stint on the disabled list since 7/8-24/00 (w/ Seattle) when he missed 15 games with a right knee strain... originally injured his quad running out a ground ball on 4/20 at Baltimore... missed three games from 4/22-24 (spent three days from 4/21-23 in Miami, Fla., welcoming the birth of his second daughter, Ella Alexander, on 4/21)... returned to the lineup on 4/25 and played in four games before being removed for PH (Damon) in the eighth inning of 4/28 win at Cleveland (left game with discomfort in his right quad)...Played in two extended spring training games in Florida (5/12 and 5/17), going 3-for-10 with 2R, 1HR and 1BB... also played in a simulated game on 5/18, going 5-for-15 with 1HR and 5BB (72 total pitches from four different pitchers)...In his final 114 games of the season after returning from the D.L. on 5/20, hit .305 (128-for-419) with 90R, 26 doubles, 31HR, 92RBI, 59BB and 17SB... the Yankees were 68-46 (.596) over the stretch as he led the AL in home runs and ranked third in runs and RBI... was the third-highest winning percentage in the AL following his return...Hit two-run HR on 5/20 vs. Baltimore and solo-HR on 5/21 vs. Baltimore, becoming the first player to homer in each of his first two games after spending at least three weeks on the D.L. since Chris Richard from 7/31- 8/1/02 with Baltimore (credit: Elias Sports Bureau)...According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his career total of 528 homers through 6/12/2008 were the most for any player within 13 years of hitting his first HR (hit his first Major League homer off Tom Gordon on 6/12/95 w/ Seattle vs. Kansas City)...Hit exactly one home run in four straight games from 6/14-18... according to Elias, it marked the seventh time in his career he homered in four-or-more straight games, matching Jim Thome and Albert Pujols for most among active Major Leaguers...Grounded into four double plays in the final three games of a four-game series at Texas from 8/5-7, tying his career high for consecutive games with a GDP... had 4GDP in his first 92 games of the season prior to the series...Hit game-winning solo-HR in the 12th-his 200th homer as a Yankee-and was 1-for-6 on 8/12 at Minnesota... according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the home run was the seventh extra-inning homer of his career... became the 15th player in franchise history to reach 200 home runs with the Yankees, including two others who did it within the previous month: Derek Jeter (7/12) and Jason Giambi (8/9)... according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time that any set of teammates on one club accomplished the feat in the same season... Elias also notes that Rodriguez became the second-fastest Yankee to reach 200HR, doing so in 729 games with the club (Babe Ruth reached 200HR with the Yankees in 586 games)...Grounded into 11 double plays in the month of August, the most in a single month in franchise history since GDPs were first recorded in the American League in 1939 (credit: Elias Sports Bureau)... over the last 20 seasons, the only other player to hit into as many GDPs in one calendar month was Jose Guillen (11 in August 2007 with Seattle)...His solo-HR on 9/2 at Tampa Bay was the 1,000th extrabase hit of his career, coming at the age of 33 years, 37 days... according to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 294 days on 8/13/40) reached the milestone at a younger age...Was scratched from the lineup before 9/13 Game 1 loss vs. Tampa Bay (stiff neck)...Hit grand-slam-HR and was 2-for-4 with 2R and 1 double in 9/14 win vs. Tampa Bay, marking his 17th career grand slam (second among active players behind Manny Ramirez-20) and first since 9/25/07 at Tampa Bay... according to Elias, became the first Yankees cleanup hitter to hit a grand slam after the first three batters of the game reached base since Mel Hall on 6/24/89 at Kansas City and the first such Yankee at Yankee Stadium since Dave Winfield on 7/16/84 vs. Texas...Did not play in three of the team's final five games from 9/24-28.