Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez was born on July 27, 1975 in New York City, New York. (Click here for a complete listing of today's sports birthdays.) His parents, Victor and Lourdes, owned a shoe store in Washington Heights and lived in a small apartment behind it. Natives of the Dominican Republic, they planned to one day return to their homeland with Alex and his siblings, Susy and Joe. The couple worked hard to make it happen. Victor manned the store and watched the kids, while Lourdes left before dawn each morning for her job at a car factory north of the city.
Victor was a big baseball fan. A good player as a child, he passed his love of the game on to Alex. Victor gave his son a plastic bat and rubber ball, and the youngster was immediately hooked. He practiced his swing every chance he got, including in the Rodriguez store. Victor often had to send Alex on his way with Joe or Susy to play pinball at pizza parlor up the block.
