Alex Rodriguez hit .321 with 48 home runs, 130 RBIs, and a 1.031 OPS in 2005. He won his second AL MVP. He broke Joe DiMaggio's franchise record for home runs by a right-handed hitter. He became the youngest player in MLB history to reach 400 career dingers. And the lasting image of his season is a ground ball into a double play in the ninth inning of a winner-take-all game. That's the A-Rod experience with the New York Yankees, distilled into one brutal sentence.
The Numbers Were Stupid Good
Let's just lay it out. A-Rod led the American League in home runs (48), slugging (.610), and OPS (1.031). He scored 124 runs and drove in 130. He won his second MVP on 16 of 28 first-place ballots. This wasn't a close race -- Rodriguez carried a Yankees lineup that needed carrying, and the voters knew it.
The freakin' crazy part? He did this while the rotation was falling apart around him. Pavano went down. Wright went down. Brown faded. Johnson was inconsistent at 41. A-Rod was basically running a one-man offensive operation for months while the pitching staff figured out it couldn't rely on anything the front office had bought.
April 26: The Bartolo Game
This was the game that told you everything about what kind of season Rodriguez was about to have. Three home runs. Ten RBIs. All against Bartolo Colon, the reigning AL Cy Young winner. It was the most RBIs by a Yankee in a single game since Tony Lazzeri drove in 11 on May 24, 1936. (That's a 69-year gap. Sixty-nine years.) A-Rod didn't just beat the Angels that night -- he made Colon look like he was throwing batting practice.
Youngest to 400
On June 8, Rodriguez hit his 400th career home run at 29 years and 316 days old. Nobody in baseball history had gotten there faster. Think about that -- 29 years old and already at 400. The guy had been hitting home runs at a historic pace since he was a teenager in Seattle, and the milestones just kept falling. He passed DiMaggio's single-season franchise record for a right-handed hitter (46 in 1937) on his way to 48. (Aaron Judge would blow past both marks later, but in 2005, A-Rod owned the record.)
The Team Around Him
Rodriguez didn't do this alone, but he did the heavy lifting. Cano showed up in May and hit .297 as a rookie. Gary Sheffield added 34 homers. Jason Giambi went from hitting .195 to Comeback Player of the Year. Mo saved 43 games with a 1.38 ERA. Matsui was steady in the middle of the order.
But when the Yankees needed a game blown open, when the lineup needed somebody to put the team on his back, it was A-Rod. Every time.
October's Cold Shower
The ALDS against the Angels started fine. The Yanks took Game 1 behind Cano's bases-clearing double. Then the wheels came off. Game 2: A-Rod committed a fielding error that contributed to a 5-3 loss. Game 3: Johnson got rocked at the Stadium. Game 4: Chacon kept the season alive.
Game 5 was the one that stuck. Bottom of the ninth, Angels Stadium, Yankees trailing 5-3. Jeter singled to open the inning -- because of course he did. Rodriguez stepped up with a chance to be the hero. He grounded into a double play. Giambi and Sheffield singled after that (because the baseball gods enjoy cruelty), but Matsui grounded out to end the series.
One at-bat. One double play. 162 games of brilliance, and that's what people remembered.
The Narrative Hardens
The trade from Texas had been framed as the move that'd push the Yankees to a title. The 2004 ALCS said otherwise. Now 2005 said it again -- louder. A-Rod couldn't perform when it mattered most. That was the story, and it stuck for four straight years. Critics repeated it after the 2006 ALDS exit. They repeated it after 2007. The only thing that eventually shut them up was 2009 -- 6 homers, 18 RBIs in the postseason, and a ring.
But in November 2005, holding the MVP trophy, Rodriguez was stuck in the worst position in sports: the best player in the league, on the team with the biggest payroll, without an October answer.
The award confirmed what everyone already knew. And the ALDS confirmed what everyone feared.
| Batting Average | .321 |
| Home Runs | 48 (led AL) |
| RBI | 130 |
| Runs Scored | 124 |
| Slugging | .610 |
| OPS | 1.031 |
| Award | AL MVP (16 of 28 first-place votes) |
3 HR, 10 RBI vs. Bartolo Colon
Rodriguez crushes three homers off the reigning Cy Young winner -- the most RBIs by a Yankee since Tony Lazzeri's 11 in 1936.
Youngest to 400 Career HR
A-Rod becomes the youngest player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs at 29 years, 316 days old.
Passes DiMaggio's RHH Record
Rodriguez surpasses Joe DiMaggio's franchise record of 46 home runs by a right-handed hitter, set in 1937.
ALDS Game 5: Double Play
With Jeter on first and the Yankees trailing 5-3 in the ninth, A-Rod grounds into a double play. The Angels win the series 3-2.
AL MVP Announced
Rodriguez wins his second career AL MVP, earning 16 of 28 first-place votes. The individual brilliance can't mask the October exit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many home runs did A-Rod hit in 2005?
Rodriguez hit 48 home runs in 2005, leading the American League. He broke Joe DiMaggio's franchise record of 46 for a right-handed hitter, set in 1937. Aaron Judge later surpassed that mark with 52 in 2017 and 62 in 2022.
What happened to A-Rod in the 2005 ALDS?
The Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels 3 games to 2. In Game 5, with the Yanks trailing 5-3 in the ninth, Derek Jeter singled to open the inning and Rodriguez grounded into a rally-killing double play. The at-bat became the defining A-Rod postseason moment until his 2009 redemption.
Was 2005 A-Rod's best season with the Yankees?
By the numbers, it's hard to beat. His 1.031 OPS, .321 average, and 48 home runs were all the best single-season marks of his Yankees tenure. He won AL MVP and broke multiple franchise records. The only thing missing was a postseason run to match.
Did A-Rod break DiMaggio's home run record?
Yes. Rodriguez's 48 home runs in 2005 broke Joe DiMaggio's franchise record of 46 by a right-handed hitter, set in 1937. Aaron Judge later broke A-Rod's mark with 52 in 2017.