This is a rare Official Rawlings Baseball Autographed by Future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.  Alex Rodriguez always admired how Cal Ripken Jr. approached the game both on and off the field.  Closely following that example, "ARod" has established himself as perhaps the best player in the game today.  If he can maintain his current pace, ARod is on course to join Cal as one of the all-time greats in baseball history. 

Cal won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1983 (.318 average, 27 HR and 102 RBI) and 1991 (.323-34-114).  Alex matched Cal's accomplishments in 2005 by winning his second AL MVP Award, thanks to a season in which he hit .321 with 48 home runs and 130 RBI.  The second MVP award for ARod follows his winning the honor in 2003 (.298-47-118).  Cal paved the way for ARod by breaking the mold at shortstop.  A hulking 6'4", Cal was able to bring meaningful offense to a historically defensive position.  A perennial All-Star at the position, he led the way for players like ARod to dominate the game both offensively and defensively at short.  In 2001, their friendship was in place for the world to see at the All-Star Game in Seattle.  Cal had moved over to play third base by that point in his career, and was voted to start the All-Star Game by the fans.  Alex was voted by the fans to start at short, but deferred to his idol.  Cal played short at the behest of ARod and the fans, with ARod shifting over to third base, a brief glimpse of the past and the future.  After his trade to the Yankees before the 2004 season, ARod moved away from short and over to third.  Again, Alex had followed Cal by moving from short to the hot corner.  In only his second season at the position, ARod won his second career MVP. 

Cal and ARod are not just two of the greatest ball players of all-time.  Thanks to their efforts away from the field, they are viewed positively in and outside of the game thanks to their community efforts.

All products signed by Alex Rodriguez on this site feature a uniquely numbered MLB Authentication Program hologram. This means that every signed ARod item is witnessed by an MLB representative.