Alex Rodriguez’s reputation as a postseason underperformer became canon in the 2006 ALDS, when he went 1-for-14 in a four-game series defeat to the Tigers.
It was New York’s fourth straight season without a World Series appearance after it reached six of the previous eight championships.
Rodriguez, who earned $21.6 million in 2006, had batted .240 in the playoffs since joining the Yankees with just three home runs in 96 plate appearances. Fans spoiled by the team’s success in the 1990s weren’t used to such disappointment.
So the third baseman entered 2007 with few supporters in Yankees camp — manager Joe Torre famously demoted him to eighth in the batting order against the Tigers — and even fewer in the New York fan base.
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But his first month that season reminded the baseball world of his immense skill level. It was a hotter start than any of the much-hyped beginnings this year. In fact, it was arguably the hottest start in MLB history.
Rodriguez hit 14 home runs in his first 18 games, including two walk-off blasts, and he batted .400 over that span.
For comparison, Christian Yelich has notched 13 long balls in his first 24 games this season, while Cody Bellinger has delivered 11 in 23 games.
While then-Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit 14 home runs in April 2006, a year before Rodriguez did it, it took him 24 games to do so.
Here’s a timeline of Rodriguez’s torrid first few weeks in 2007, which underlined his greatness and sent him on a path toward his third career MVP honor.
April 2, 2007: Home run off Juan Salas (1)
Like many of his long balls in April 2007, Rodriguez delivered a late-inning shot, going deep in the eighth against Tampa Bay reliever Juan Salas, who would last just three seasons in the big leagues. The Yankees won 9-5 in their season opener against a franchise which at that point was considered the annual doormat of the AL East. At this point, there was no understanding of how special this run would become. He would go two games until his next home run — which incredibly tied the longest drought of his dominant 18-day stretch.
April 7, 2007: Home runs off Steve Trachsel (2), Chris Ray (3)
With two home runs and six RBIs, Rodriguez almost single-handedly beat the Orioles in the Yanks' 10-7 win. His first shot came in the first inning. His second of the contest marked the first classic moment of this streak — a walk-off grand slam with two outs and two strikes and the Yankees down by a run. It wasn’t a cheap one, either. The ball cleared the center field fence at old Yankee Stadium by a considerable margin.
He was just getting started.
April 8, 2007: Home run off Erik Bedard (4)
This was Rodriguez’s first home run off a legitimately good pitcher. Bedard went on to go 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA that season with the Orioles before his career crumbled with the Mariners.
Despite the two-run blast in the first inning, Baltimore won 6-4.
April 9, 2007: Home run off Sidney Ponson (5)
If Rodriguez’s walk-off grand slam two days earlier had garnered buzz around the league, his home run in this contest against the Twins offered a bigger-picture glimpse at how historically significant his April would be. At five home runs in his first six games — and three games in a row — he’d already established himself as the hottest hitter in the league.
This one came in the sixth inning off Ponson and traveled the opposite way to deep right field. The Yankees won in a blowout 8-2.
April 10, 2007: Home run off Boof Bonser (6)
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the list of pitchers in this run — if Ponson and Bonser were pitching in the meme era, they would almost certainly become cult favorites. Boof Bonser remains one of the greatest names in baseball history.
This particular blast came in first inning of another blowout Yankees win. It was Rodriguez's fourth game in a row with a long ball, and the two-run shot gave him 15 RBIs in just seven games.
"You try not to talk about it too much," Rodriguez said of his start in a postgame interview with YES. "But yeah, you're in a comfortable situation and hopefully things continue."
They did.
April 14, 2007: Home run off Joe Blanton (7)
After another power slump (by his standards) of two games, Rodriguez returned to the home run column with a solo shot in the fifth inning off Blanton, then in his third full MLB season with the A’s.
The Yankees won 4-3 via a Jason Giambi home run in the 13th inning.
April 17, 2007: Home run off Jake Westbrook (8)
Rodriguez’s two-out, two-run home run against Westbrook, the longtime Indians starter, was part of a six-run second inning for the Yankees. It began another stretch of at least one home run in four straight games.
April 18, 2007: Home run off Tom Mastny (9)
Mastny finished his career with a 6.13 ERA. Being part of this stretch was the highlight of his MLB existence.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, was feeling pretty good.
The last time he smiled so much?
"Probably when my daughter was born," Rodriguez told reporters.
April 19, 2007: Home run off Joe Borowski (10)
This towering two-out walk-off home run to deep center field created another iconic moment for Rodriguez. As he rounded the bases, he waved his arms high above his head and screamed in celebration, offering the over-the-top enthusiasm of a Little League star delivering a big hit.
In other words, it was vintage A-Rod.
April 20, 2007: Two home runs off Curt Schilling (11, 12)
A day removed from his walk-off shot against the Indians, Rodriguez got even more ridiculous, mashing two home runs off Schilling, who finished that season with a 3.87 ERA.
The long balls came in back-to-back innings, a solo home run in the fourth followed by a three-run homer in the fifth. He finished the game against the Red Sox 3-for-5, but the Yankees still lost.
April 23, 2007: Home runs off Casey Fossum, Alberto Reyes (13,14)
Rodriguez capped off his stretch of 14 home runs in 18 games by coming full circle with two more against the Devil Rays, whom he had started the season facing.
His first of the day came against Fossum in the second inning. The second came against Reyes in the ninth inning, raising his average to .400 in the process.
Incredibly, the Yankees lost the game to drop to 8-10, meaning they wasted one of the best stretches in baseball history.
After a .500 first half, though, New York went on to win 94 games and secure a wild-card berth behind its MVP third baseman.