Alex Rodriguez plays a sport.
Alex Rodriguez . After opting out of his contract following the 2007 season , Rodriguez signed a new 10-year , $ 275 million deal with the Yankees , extending his record for the sport 's most lucrative contract . Batting average is a statistic in cricket , baseball , and softball that measures the performance of batsmen in cricket and batters in baseball . Major League Baseball ( MLB ) is a professional baseball organization , the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada . The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award ( MVP ) is an annual Major League Baseball ( MLB ) award , given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League . A third baseman , abbreviated 3B , is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base -- the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run .