Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers 2001-03 MIXTAPE - Home Runs And More Edoardo Bennato [L08CsltRZeu]

Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers Highlights from 2001-2003.

Rodriguez became a free agent after the 2000 season. He eventually signed with the Texas Rangers, who had fallen to last place in their division in 2000. The contract was at the time the most lucrative contract in sports history: a 10-year deal worth $252 million. The deal was worth $63 million more than the second-richest baseball deal. The contract was highly criticized, because it tied up valuable payroll space that could have been spent to improve other areas, such as pitching.

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Rodriguez's power hitting numbers improved with his move to the Texas Rangers. In his first season there, Rodriguez produced one of the top offensive seasons ever for a shortstop, leading the American League with 52 HR, 133 runs scored, and 393 total bases. He became the first player since 1932 with 50 homers and 200 hits in a season, just the third shortstop to ever lead the league in homers, and was just n the second AL player in the last 34 seasons (beginning 1968) to lead the league in runs, homers, and total bases; his total base figure is the most ever for a major league shortstop. His 52 homers made him the sixth youngest to ever reach 50 homers and were the highest total ever by a shortstop, surpassing Ernie Banks' record of 47 in 1958, and also the most ever for an infielder other than a 1st baseman, breaking Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt's mark of 48 in 1980. It was his 5th 30-homer campaign, tying Banks for most ever by a shortstop. He also tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (87) and ranked third in RBIs (135) and slugging (.622). He was also among the AL leaders in hits (4th, 201), average (7th, .318), and on-base percentage (8th, .399). He established Rangers club records for homers, runs, total bases, and hit by pitches, had the 2nd most tampa bay rays extra-base hits, and the fourth-highest RBI total. He led the club in runs, hits, doubles (34), homers, RBI, slugging, and on-base percentage and was second in walks (75), stolen bases (18), and game-winning RBI (14) while posting career highs for homers, RBI, and total bases. Rodriguez started 161 games at shortstop and one as the DH, the only major league player to start all of his team's games in 2001.

Rodriguez followed the previous year with a major league-best 57 HR, 142 RBIs and 389 total bases in 2002, becoming the first player to lead the majors in all three categories since 1984. His nine home runs como in April matched a team record that was shared (through 2008) with Ivn Rodrguez (2000), Carl Everett (2003), and Ian Kinsler (2007). He had the 6th-most home runs in AL history, the most since Roger Maris' league record 61 in 1961 and the most ever for a shortstop for the 2nd straight year. He won the Babe Ruth Home Run Award for leading MLB in homers that season. He also won his first Gold Glove Award, awarded for outstanding defense.

His 109 home runs in 200102 are the most ever by an American League right-handed batter in consecutive seasons. However, the Rangers finished last in the AL Western division in both years. He finished second in the MVP balloting to fellow shortstop Miguel Tejada, whose 103-win Oakland Athletics won the same division.

2003

The 2003 season was Rodriguez' last year with the Rangers. He led the American League in home runs, runs scored, and slugging percentage, and won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award. He also led the league in fewest at-bats per home run (12.9) and became the youngest player to hit 300 homers. He was tied with Jim Thome for the MLB lead in homers, and he won his second Babe Ruth Home Run Award.

Following five top-10 finishes in the AL MVP voting between 1996 and 2002, Rodriguez won his first MVP trophy. Rodriguez, a two-time runner up in the balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, joined outfielder Andre Dawson from the 1987 Chicago Cubs as the only players to play on last-place teams and win the award.