Yankees slugger and former World Series Champion Alex Rodriguez has announced that he will be retiring after the 2017 season, when his contract with New York expires.
The news came via SportsCenter’s Twitter account, which revealed A-Rod broke the news to ESPN senior writer Andrew Marchand.
BREAKING: Alex Rodriguez tells @AndrewMarchand that he will retire after 2017 season when his contract expires. pic.twitter.com/DoaUiGlxrU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2016
For the large majority of his 21-year career, Rodriguez has been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, players in the game. He is a 14-time All-Star, 3-time AL MVP, and has led the American League in home runs 5 times in his career, including a consecutive 3-year stretch from 2001-2003. However, his career will also be forever linked with controversy, stemming from the lucrative nature of his contracts, and a performance-enhancing drug scandal that earned him a season-long suspension from the MLB. He signed a free agent contract with the Texas Rangers in 2000 worth $252 million, the richest in the sport at the time. 7 years later, he would sign a similar contract with the Yankees–10 years, $275 million–that would keep him signed throughout the end of next season, which is when A-Rod will hang his cleats up.
Career stats? As of right now, A-Rod is 4th all-time in home runs with 687, which is 75 off Barry Bonds‘ pace. He’s racked up 3,070 hits, and is also 4th all-time on the RBI list at 2,055, 242 off of Hank Aaron‘s pace. He’s got two seasons to add to those totals, so let’s see how he does.
