A-Rod at 40: The best and worst from the controversial Yankee slugger
Best – The Break-out Season
The first step is always the toughest, and Alex Rodriguez found that out the hard way. After two starts and stops in 1994 and 1995, both years as the league’s youngest player, Rodriguez finally got himself a full-time shot as the starting shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and made it completely worth the wait.
Perhaps it was the fact that there was little available knowledge of the young shortstop, but in 1996 the then 20-year-old Rodriguez set himself on a course for super-stardom by murdering American League pitchers to the tune of a league-leading .358 batting average, a .414 on-base percentage, and a .631 slugging mark. Add in the 141 runs scored, 54 doubles, 36 home runs, and 123 RBI, and Rodriguez was the break-out star of the summer.
He would be rewarded for his efforts by being selected to his first All-Star Game and finished second behind Juan Gonzalez for the American League MVP award, just 1% behind in the vote. Only teammate Ken Griffey Jr. was worth more in terms of WAR than was A-Rod (9.2) and he finished tenth in the league with a wRC+ of 159.
It was a taste of what was to come over the course of his career and showed the true talent of the player before other things got into the way.
Next: Best Moments - 2001 All-Star Game