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TAMPA – FEBRUARY 17: Infielder Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees pauses during a press conference about his performance enhancing drug use at the George Steinbrenner complex February 17, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
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TAMPA – FEBRUARY 17: Infielder Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees pauses during a press conference about his performance enhancing drug use at the George Steinbrenner complex February 17, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez is an eternally relevant name in the world of baseball. He was extraordinarily talented in his skills, both in batting and fielding. Utilizing his sporting acumen, he stacked up a mountain of milestones. One of those feats includes racking up a colossal total of 696 home runs in his career.
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‘A-Rod’ got busy building his commendable legacy since he began his professional sporting career in the MLB. He was an outstanding performer since his much younger days. Therefore, he made his MLB debut at the mere age of 18 years. Within a short time, he gained expertise in the craft of the sport, including the means to tackle the curveball.
As an MLB player, Rodriguez thus reached the level of a talismanic genius. His knowledge of technique is as valuable and precious as a box of treasures. So post-retirement, he even briefly served as a consultant for the New York Yankees. Recently, during an interview, Rodriguez shared his secret of countering the curveball.
Alex Rodriguez on his technique of dominating the curveball
Alex Rodriguez made the act of slamming home runs look like a flick of a switch. He is honorably a 10-time Silver Slugger Award recipient and a five-time league Home Run Leader. But there was a method in paving his path to glory. So Rodriguez recently discussed his life experiences on the Money Maze Podcast, including his proficiency in tackling the curveball.
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DETROIT – OCTOBER 07: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees warms up in the dugout in a game against the Detroit Tigers during Game Four of the 2006 American League Division Series on October 7, 2006 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers won the game 8 to 3 and won the series 3 games to 1.(Photo by Rob Tringali/Sportschrome/Getty Images)
Speaking on the podcast, Rodriguez said, “Well curveball is just basically a ball that spins. And unlike a fastball that is straight like a bullet, the curveball spins and is a lot slower. And it has kind of a hump on it. You think about it like a rainbow. Right? And that’s the action of the ball, and it’s not a natural thing for anyone to do, is to hit a rainbow. Right?”
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Rodriguez continued, saying, “But we can all hit a straight line of you time it well. So I just thought it was a matter of reps, and the machine really helped me getting reps. Getting used to it. And as a result of those 696 home runs, I’m sure a couple hundred of them were on breaking balls.”
The elite-class MLB career of A-Rod
Rodriguez entered the MLB stage as a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners in 1994. Following on, he also played for the Texas Rangers and later famously joined the Yankees as a third baseman. He remarkably made 14 All-Star appearances and also won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009. A three-time league MVP Award recipient, the legend retired with 3,115 career hits, averaging 0.295.
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Watch This Story: From Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez To Derek Jeter: Here Are The Top-5 Richest MLB Players Of All Time
So, do you believe Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest sluggers to have ever played the sport?
