ESPN2 to Launch “Kay-Rod,” A Sunday Night Baseball Broadcast Featuring Alex Rodriguez & Michael Kay

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rodriguez’s Sunday night card is filling up…

For eight games on ESPN2, the 46-year-old Dominican American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, nicknamed “A-Rod,” will join veteran commentator Michael Kay for Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod.

The broadcast will be similar to the ManningCasts that featured former quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning during Monday Night Football this season.

A-Rod’s new show will feature special guests as well as fantasy baseball and predictive elements.

Rodriguez and Kay will also serve as the primary broadcast team for two games during the 2022 season.

Meanwhile, Eduardo Perez will also be joining the ESPN team on Sunday nights.

The 52-year-old Cuban American former professional baseball player, coach and current television sports color commentator will serve as an analyst for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts.

Perez had a 13-season career that ended in 2006. He worked for ESPN from 2006 to 2010, left for Cleveland’s front office, coached for Miami and Houston, and returned to ESPN in 2014.

Jennifer Lopez Announces Engagement to Alex Rodriguez

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez finally has her anillo…

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican superstar, who earned a No. 1 on Billboard’sLatin Airplay chart with “El Anillo,” has announced her engagement with former baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

The couple both posted a photo of J. Lo’s huge new ring on Instagramon Saturday (March 9) to share the news.

“She said yes,” the former New York Yankees player captioned the picture, while Lopez’s comment consisted of several heart emojis.

The newly engaged couple, who have been posting sunny snapshots by the sea over the past few days, appear to be on a romantic beachside getaway.

Lopez and Rodriguez began dating in February 2017. This past November, the singer/actress chatted about her and A-Rod‘s relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, who teased her about their potential plans to wed. “So you’ll be getting married?” DeGeneres prompted. “I don’t know,” said Lopez at the time. “I don’t know.”

“You should, because y’all seem very happy,” the host offered. Lopez answered, “We’ve been together a couple years. It’s nice.”

View this post on Instagram

she said yes ♥️

A post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on Mar 9, 2019 at 5:34pm PST

Lopez recently released dates for her upcoming It’s My Party: The Live Celebration Tour, which kicks off on June 7 in Phoenix.

Alex Rodriguez Joins the Team for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball Broadcasts

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rodriguez is heading back to the diamond…

The 42-year-old Dominican-American former professional baseball player and New York Yankees star will join the ESPN team this season to work on Sunday Night Baseball telecasts.

A-Rod joins the broadcast team of Jessica Mendoza, Buster Olney and new play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian.

Rodriguez joined Fox Sports as a full-time MLB analyst in March 2017 after working as a guest for some telecasts — including the 2015 World Series. He’ll continue to work for Fox during the postseason. ESPN’s parent company, Disney, has agreed to acquire part of 21st Century Fox, including regional sports networks.

“I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my broadcasting career,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time in baseball and now I get that front row seat to tell that story every Sunday night on ESPN as well as calling my fourth post season on Fox where I started this journey.”

Rodriguez replaces analyst Aaron Boone, who was named manager of the New York Yankees this offseason.

Rodriguez last played in the majors in 2016, for the Yankees. He played 22 years in the big leagues, making 14 All-Star Games and winning the MVP three times. But his image took a hit when he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs and was suspended for the entire 2014 season.

Rodriguez will also appear in and serve as executive producer of several ESPN specials, the network announced.

He has started to rebuild his image with his analysis of baseball on Fox broadcasts. He’s also remained in the spotlight because of his romance with Jennifer Lopez.

“I am incredibly excited to work with both Alex and Matt,” Mendoza said in the statement. “Matt has been a friend for a long time and someone whose work I’ve long admired. Alex’s achievements as a player speak for themselves, and I’ve been greatly impressed by the passion and dedication he has put into his broadcasting career. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Vasgersian is only the third voice of Sunday Night Baseball, following Jon Miller and Dan Shulman. The program is entering its 29th season.

“Jon and Dan set the bar super high for Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play, so it’s a real thrill for someone who still remembers his first minor league bus trip in 1991 to have a chair like this one,” Vasgersian said in the statement. “I know firsthand how passionate both Alex and Jessica are about baseball, and I can’t wait to get started with them.”

Rodriguez to Serve as Full-Time Analyst After Signing Multi-Year Deal with Fox Sports

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rodriguez is miking up…

The 41-year-old Dominican American former New York Yankees slugger has agreed to a multi-year deal to be a full-time analyst for Fox Sports.

Among other things, A-Rod—a 14-time All-Star and three-time American League Most Valuable Player—will break down the game for some Fox MLB Saturday games, serve as a feature reporter for Fox’s pre-game shows, and appear on FS1’s MLB Whiparound.

“Bringing Alex back was a priority of ours and we are fortunate to have him as a key contributor to our baseball coverage,” says Fox Sports President of Production & Executive Producer John Entz. “His potential is off the charts and he’s been an incredibly quick learner in the world of television. He even understands the complexities of sales units.”

Major League Baseball suspended A-Rod for the 2014 season after it was revealed that he used performance enhancing drugs between 2000 and 2003, and received human growth hormone treatments in 2013.

This is the last year of his decade-long $275 million contract with the Yankees. The team let him go as a player last August, after a prolonged slump, although it remained on the hook for his contract.

But his encyclopedic knowledge of the game made him an impressive analyst in guest stints on-air analyzing the 2015 World Series and the 2016 postseason.

He ended his playing career as the game’s leading grand-slam hitter with 25 in 2,784 games. He’s also the No. 4 home run hitter, with 696, as well as No. 20 in hits with 3,115, and No. 3 in runs batted in with 2,086.

Rodriguez played with the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers prior to joining the Yankees in 2004.

Rodriguez to Host CNBC Reality TV Show About Financially Troubled Retired Athletes

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Things are about to get real for Alex Rodriguez…

The 41-year-old former Dominican American professional baseball star, nicknamed “A-Rod,” will host a CNBC reality television show featuring retired athletes who face financial troubles.

CNBC announced Tuesday that the show’s working title is “Back in the Game.” It will be co-produced by another former New York sports star, Michael Strahan.

Rodriguez played his final game with the New York Yankees last August, ending a 12-year run with New York. The Yankees will owe him $20 million in 2017, the final season of his 10-year, $275 million contract.

The Yankees announced that Rodriguez will remain with the organization as a team adviser in 2017, but the three-time American League MVP technically is a free agent and can sign with any club.

According to a CNBC release, the pilot episode of “Back in the Game” will pair former athletes “in serious financial distress with money-savvy mentors who can help them get back on their feet.”

Strahan, the Hall of Fame New York Giants defensive end, is listed as one of three executive producers for the show.

Rodriguez Announces Retirement as a Major League Baseball Player

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rodriguez is bidding adieu to Major League Baseball… at least as a professional player.

The 41-year-old Dominican American New York Yankees designated hitter, nicknamed “A-Rod,” is retiring from the sport after 22 seasons with the MLB.

Rodriguez, widely considered one of the greatest players in baseball history, and often one of the sport’s most controversial figures, will play his final game on August 12 when the Yankees face off against the Tampa Bay Rays. Following his retirement, A-Rod will become a “special advisor and instructor” for the Yankees through the end of 2017.

The announcement came on Sunday in an emotional press conference called by the Yankees organization.

“We all want to keep playing forever. But it doesn’t work that way,” Rodriguez said, openly weeping. Fortunately, the 14-time All Star, who achieved over 2000 runs scored, 3000 hits, 696 home runs, a 2000+ RBI and a .297 career batting average, will still be earning money from the team.

A-Rod has $7 million left on his contract for the remainder of this current season and an additional $21 million next year. The Yankees are legally obligated to pay him in full for the rest of his contract, adding considerably to the more than $400 million he’s earned since going pro right out of high school in 1993 as the #1 overall draft pick.

Rodriguez played with the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers before joining the Yankees in 2004.

With a record matched only by some of the greatest players of all time, Rodriguez has also seen his share controversy over his career. Among them, Rodriguez angered fans and colleagues alike in 2007 when he opted out of his contract with the Yankees in what turned out to be a hardball negotiation that netted him a 10-year, $275 million contract. A-Rod was also revealed to have used performance enhancing drugs between 2000 and 2003 and was later suspended in 2014 after violating the league’s performance enhancing drugs policies after receiving human growth hormone treatments in 2013.

Rodriguez Hits First Home Run of the 2015 Season, First Since 2013

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rodriguez is blasting his way back into the spotlight…

The 39-year-old Dominican American baseball star, nicknamed A-Rod, hit his first home run Thursday night in a 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s Rodriguez’s first homer since returning to Major League Baseball play after serving a yearlong drug suspension.

The three-time New York Yankees MVP connected off Blue Jays rookie Daniel Norris, leading off the sixth inning by launching a high fastball deep into the left-field seats for his 655th career homer.

Rodriguez, moved up to second in the New York Yankees’ lineup against a lefty, tossed his bat aside and rounded the bases without any fanfare, though the drive invigorated a small crowd on a cold night at Yankee Stadium.

It was A-Rod’s first home run since Sept. 20, 2013, against San Francisco Giants reliever George Kontos. The slugger ranks fifth on the career list, five behind Willie Mays.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: A-Rod