#100

Its hard to envision any player other than Alex Rodriguez taking home the AL MVP this season. A-Rod picked up his 100TH RBI of the season on Monday for the Yankees as they beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2.

He hit magical number 100 in under 100 games, becoming the first player to do so since Manny Ramirez with Boston in 1999. Yet another little notch to add to the Rodriguez belt. Hard to believe this guy was being vociferously and lustily booed by the Yankees faithful last year for underperforming.

Rodriguez has been having one of those seasons that will live on in history. He is approaching 40 home runs on the season and 500 for a career, perhaps on his way to break Bonds’s eventual home run mark. He is just 2 home runs away from 500 and will likely break that barrier in the very near future pushing him into very elite company.

A-Rod, by breaking 100 RBI’s has now done it for 10 straight years and 11 total in his storied and still young career. He will likely hit 1500 RBI this season, moving him from 53rd on the all-time RBI list up to about 47th. He has the potential to move into the top 10 in the next five years with his swing and his power and if he can find a quality team this offseason when he inevitably explores his free agency.

A few days shy of his 32nd birthday, Alex Rodriguez is entering the stage of his career that could be him acquire the largest contract in North American sports history and the numbers that he is putting up this season are doing nothing to dissuade potential suitors. Rodriguez, when he opts out, will be able to field offers from whichever club finds the money to do so as his production and star power are worth their weight in gold.