All-star MVP at Royals’ Kauffman Stadium shares more than a name with his MLB idol
Park University infielder Alex Rodriguez’s coach, Cary Lundy, knows he puts a lot of pressure on his third baseman with his nickname.
Lundy refers to Rodriguez as “A-Rod” — the universal moniker for Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, a 14-time Major League Baseball All-Star and three-time MVP in a 22-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.
But this Alex Rodriguez, a Park Hill South High School grad, looked up to the star MLB player he shared a name with, and was used to the A-Rod sobriquet long before he put on his idol’s jersey number, 13, for Lundy’s Pirates.
“It’s been something from a little age, getting called A-Rod all the time,” said Rodriguez, who’s entering his fifth year at NAIA Park U. “You don’t get called Alex, and you just watch highlights of him, and eventually you want to be him.”
This Alex Rodriguez is calm and collected under pressure as well, as he showed during the 2023 Ban Johnson Collegiate League (BJCL) All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Rodriguez poked an RBI single to right field in the top of the seventh inning that gave the American Division All-Stars a 1-0 lead over their National Division counterparts.
The American Division went on to win 2-1 and Rodriguez was named MVP of the game. If there wasn’t already a second player named Alex Rodriguez with an MVP to his name, there is now.
“He’s pretty steady, one of the steadiest ball players I’ve coached,” said Lundy, who also coaches Rodriguez’s BJCL team, the Ban Johnson Legends, and was an assistant coach for the American Division All-Stars.
The BJCL is a summer league for Kansas City-area high school grads and college players up to 23 years old that began in 1927. It has played its all-star contest in the Kansas City Royals’ home park since 1969 and at Kauffman Stadium since it opened in 1973.
This is Rodriguez’s fourth summer in the league since Lundy invited him out initially.
“When you come in as a freshman and he asks if you want to play on his team, it’s pretty hard to turn down your college coach,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been an honor. He’s been able to see me play well and know that I can play with these other guys, so it’s good for him to see it too.”
Rodriguez was the Heart of America Conference’s Gold Glove award winner for third base in 2021 and an all-conference honorable mention in 2021 and 2022. He posted a smoldering .381 average with 61 hits as the Pirates’ leadoff hitter in 2022.
Ironically, Rodriguez previously played shortstop for the BJ Legends, but when Billy Rivera — Park U’s starting shortstop from Puerto Rico — decided to play in the BJCL this summer, Rodriguez was happy to slide back to the hot corner.
It’s not all that different from his professional idol, who moved to third base when he joined the Yankees as Hall of Famer Derek Jeter manned short.
“Before Billy came in, I asked Alex — I said, ‘I got a pretty good shortstop that can really play. Would you mind going to another position?’” Lundy said. “I thought third base was perfect for him because he’s such a good glove, he’s got the arm for it and everything, and he took it in stride. He said, ‘Anything to make the team better,’ and that’s what we did.”
Rodriguez and Rivera roamed the left side of the infield together for some of Tuesday’s contest as the American squad outlasted the National bunch in a well-pitched game.
The National Division pitching staff took a combined no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning until Milgram Mustangs outfielder Will Krzykowski (Central Missouri) reached first. The scoreboard operator ruled it a single, but it probably should’ve been a throwing error charged to the third baseman.
Three batters later, Rodriguez singled home courtesy runner and Legends teammate Ethan Walker (North Alabama) to break the scoreless tie.
“Knew there was a guy on base, and the pitch was a little bit up, and just looped it over first base and got the job done,” Rodriguez said.
The American Division went up 2-0 in the top of the ninth as Krzykowski scored on an errant throw that sailed out of play.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Creche Innovations Stars’ Jaidan Quinn (Concordia University, Nebraska) doubled to lead off the inning. He came around to score on consecutive groundouts, the RBI coming from Ban Johnson Raiders infielder Jett Buck (Kansas City Kansas CC), but the National Division failed to muster a tying run.
Reflecting afterward, Rodriguez was appreciative of the chance to play at a professional venue with friends and neighbors in the stands.
“It’s one of the best experiences a lot of people don’t get to have,” he said. “There’s only so many MLB people that get to play on that field. But to get to share that field with some of the greats, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
He’ll be on that field again soon now that he’s the MVP. As a reward, he will throw out the first pitch before the Royals’ game against the New York Mets on Aug. 3.
Additionally, he and the Legends were to begin the best-of-five BJCL championship series against the Creche Innovations Stars on Wednesday evening.
In the 2009 MLB postseason, A-Rod hit .365 with six home runs and 18 RBIs across 15 games to lead the Yankees to their most recent World Series victory.
The Ban Johnson Legends could benefit from similar production from their own stud third baseman.
“A-Rod” is poised to show his coach and others his cool under pressure once again.