Yankees 3B Rodriguez wins AL MVP

Nov 19, 2007 - 10:02 PM NEW YORK (Ticker) - Before securing a lucrative contract, Alex Rodriguez picked up some hardware.

In the expected landslide, the New York Yankees' third baseman was named the American League's Most Valuable Player on Monday.

Rodriguez picked up 26 of the 28 first-place votes and 382 points from the Baseball Writers Association of America, easily defeating Detroit Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez.

"For me, it's been the most magical and most special year of my career so far, for many reasons," Rodriguez told MLB.com. "Again, not winning the World Series is very disappointing - that's why you strap it on every spring training and that's why you work so hard in the wintertime.

"But from a personal level, it was very satisfying to be able to come back from '06 and show the world what kind of player I am, on the greatest stage in the world, which is the Yankees."

About the only thing surprising was that Rodriguez was not a unanimous selection. Ordonez picked up the other two first-place votes.

Rodriguez won the award for a second time with the Yankees and third time overall. He also won with New York in 2005 after previously capturing the honor two years earlier with Texas.

Rodriguez became just the ninth player to win the MVP three or more times. Barry Bonds holds the record with seven, and Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Mike Schmidt won three apiece

Despite the honors, Rodriguez admitted there is a void in his resume.

"It's my third MVP, and I'm here to say that I would trade all three for one world championship," Rodriguez said. "I wouldn't think twice about it. The only reason we play this game, the reason I came to New York and the reason I have unfinished business in New York is because we haven't won a world championship with me being there."

It was a monster season for Rodriguez, who led the majors with 54 homers, 156 RBI, 143 runs and a 1.067 OPS. He also batted .314 to go along with 24 stolen bases.

In July, Rodriguez became the youngest player in history to reach 500 career homers. He accomplished the feat eight days after his 32nd birthday.

The award for Rodriguez comes less than a week after reports surfaced that he has agreed to a 10-year contract worth up to $275 million with the Yankees.

After Rodriguez decided to opt out of the final three years of his contract that had $91 million remaining, it was thought that his days as a Yankee were over.

But in a surprising move, Rodriguez reached out to the Yankees last week, reportedly coming to an agreement on a massive contract that likely will allow him to finish his career in pinstripes.

Rodriguez carried the Yankees during April, when they were decimated by injuries to the pitching staff and were struggling through slow starts by Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui.

In April, Rodriguez hit .355 with 14 homers and 34 RBI.

"It was such a tough year for us to get to the playoffs," Rodriguez said. "It seemed like we were in playoff mode after the All-Star Game, and this year, I was mentally exhausted after the season was over, because it was such a tough fight."

Ordonez, 33, led the majors with a .363 batting average and paced the AL with 54 doubles. He also finished with 28 homers and 139 RBI.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Vladimir Guerrero finished third in voting.