Mariners Greatest Hits: Shortstop Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez

May 12th, 1996

As our own, Colby Patnode addressed in our announcement of A-Rod as the Mariners greatest shortstop of all-time, had Rodriguez not played as many games as he did in 1994 and 1995, he would’ve been under contract with the team in 2001. He also would’ve been named Rookie of the Year.

Within his first 25 games in 1996,  A-Rod was already showing that he was a big star in the league. In just over two dozen games, A-Rod was batting .312,  with six home runs, 23 RBIS, 12 doubles, with six walks drawn.

In this mid-May affair, game 22 of his 96′ campaign, A-Rod helped increase those numbers even more.

He had a 3rd inning two-run home run and a 6th inning sacrifice fly that gave him three RBIs, but he wasn’t done there. An 8th inning home run was his second of the afternoon, padding the M’s lead to 8-5, which is how the game would end.

Not only would the Mariners not have won that night without this impressive outing by A-Rod, but the M’s shortstop wouldn’t have set career-highs with two home runs and five RBIs in a single game if he hadn’t played.

He would have 11 two-home run games with the Mariners and that streak would last until his final season with the M’s in 2000 when he hit three that April. The RBIs record didn’t last as long; he would best his five runs batted in with six five days later.

September 30th, 2000

Right before A-Rod would leave the Mariners organization in the dust because 180 million dollars just wasn’t enough, he left M’s fans with one last memory.

In a complete dismantling of the Los Angeles Angels, A-Rod would have one of his best games of his career with any team.

In the 1st, A-Rod took advantage of Tim Belcher’s pitch and drove it into the stands for a two-run shot.

In the 3rd, Belcher was able to redeem himself by forcing Rodriguez to pop out to first. But, not reaching base awoke a beast in the Mariners shortstop because he would make the Angels pay in his next at-bats.

In the 4th, A-Rod singled to right scoring Mike Cameron for his 3rd RBI of the night. In the 7th, he smacked his second home run of the day. This time he blasted a three-run shot that extended the Mariners lead to 9-2. It was his final multi-home game in an M’s uniform.

But A-Rod wasn’t done there, although none of his remaining at-bats would have an equal impact to that home run. He would strikeout in the 7th then single in the 8th and in the 9th, he would hit a sacrifice fly to bring home another run.

His seven RBIs this night tied his career-high that he set earlier in the year, and it was his 18th and final game in a Mariners uniform in which he had four or more hits.

April 16th, 2000

Before his seven-RBI game in September he was setting his personal record for his most RBIs in a contest up to that point two weeks into the 2000 season. He also achieved something on this mid-April day that he would only do four other times in his career.

A-Rod started strong by blasting a two-run long bomb that would put the Mariners up early on the hosting Toronto Blue Jays.

He would single in his next at-bat in the 3rd but would revert back to his slugging ways with his second homer of the night, another two-run shot in the 4th.

This 2nd homer extended the Mariners lead to 8-4, and although that would’ve been enough runs to beat the Blue Jays on this day, the Mariners and A-Rod, in particular were far from finished.

In the 5th, A-Rod would draw a walk to reach base and would score via the very next batter, John Olerud, who would single to left.

A-Rod would strikeout in the 7th -this would be the only time that Rodriguez would not record a hit in his five registered at-bats- but was saving his best and biggest hit for last.

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In the 8th, with the Mariners already up 15-7, A-Rod came to the plate with the bases loaded and capitalized on the opportunity to make personal history. Rodriguez would blast a ball to left-center-field for his 3rd homer and 5th run scored on the day.

Those 4 RBIs that he collected with that last swing of his game would be the last the Mariners would score that night capping off an easy 19-7 victory.

The five runs scored that game was a tremendous feat. Only three other men in Mariners history have ever reached those numbers: Adrian Beltre, Edgar Martinez, and Ken Griffey Jr. On that day, Rodriguez also became one of only 10 Mariners to ever hit three or more home runs in a single game.

That concludes our list of the best games that Alex Rodriguez ever put up in a Mariners uniform. Had he stayed with the team, many of those great moments he would end up having with the Yankees would’ve happened in Seattle, but there’s no use in crying over spilled milk now.

Next: Will Cruz Keep Crushing?

We hope you enjoyed these top-three moments in A-Rods Mariners career. If you think we missed a game or even if you think we were spot on, let us know in the comments section below.

On February 11th we’ll reveal our top third baseman in the team’s history. Stay tuned to find out who we chose.