Envy his 10-year $252 million paycheck if you must, but when
26-year-old
Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez connects stick to ball,
big things happen for the
Texas Ranger. Take last year's numbers:
135 RBIs, 52 home runs, and a .318 average. Pretty good if you're
the Rangers, who've spiced up this year's season with the addition
of pitcher John Rocker and center fielder Carl Everett. Now if the
rest of the team can perform at A-Rod's level, they could be
contenders. Speaking of the Rangers' deep pockets,
Juan
Gonzalez has settled into a new/old home (where he holds the
team's all-time RBI and home run records) to the tune of $24
million. Apparently transition doesn't distract this 32-year-old
outfielder when he's up to bat. After nearly becoming one of the
Mets, and bouncing around the league the past three years from
Texas to
Detroit to
Cleveland, Gonzalez still managed to hit 35
out-of-the-parkers and 140 RBIs, logging a .325 average for 2001.
After seven seasons with the
Oakland Athletics, 2002 marks
big-slugger
Jason Giambi's first full year in a Yankee
uniform. Along with his bat and first-base glove, Giambi brings a
.308 overall average to the pinstriped lineup. After the
31-year-old left-handed swatter won the MVP award in 2000 and came
in second in 2001, you've got to expect a good run in 2002.
Which brings us to the player who did win the MVP in 2001 -
Ichiro Suzuki, who played a crucial role in
Seattle's race
for the pennant last year, batting an American League-leading .421
in the postseason. The Japanese-born right fielder finished up his
rookie year with a .350 batting average and a whopping 69 RBIs. Oh
yeah, he also was named the AL Rookie of the Year, an
accomplishment the confident young man says "was an award I should
have won without any doubt." That he only knocked eight over the
wall in 2001 just adds to the heated debate over whether he'll
really deliver the goods this season.