"My mom had to go into overtime and start working two jobs" - Alex Rodriguez credits mom's hardships behind successful baseball journey

Alex Rodriguez had an incredible career in the MLB and the New York Yankees icon has the accolades to prove it. While it's easy to remember the milestones of his time with the Yankees, such as winning a World Series in 2009, Rodriguez never forgets where he came from and the challenges he faced growing up.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, A-Rod went into detail about his childhood and credited his mother, Lourdes, for helping him get to where he is today. After his father left home, not only did she work two jobs to keep them afloat, but she also taught him important life lessons as a role model.

Alex Rodriguez stated:

"She's the biggest inspiration in my life. My father left when I was 10, and my mom had to go into overtime and start working two jobs. She was a secretary in the morning, and she served tables at night, so she'd be gone from eight in the morning to midnight."

Rodriguez understood why she wasn't able to come to all his games and admitted to feeling nervous when she was there:

"No, she did not come around very often. I remember she probably came to a handful of my games growing up, and I remember how nervous I would get. When she was there, I was trying to really impress her."

Rodriguez recalled how he knew from an early age that being a good student and having financial literacy was the route to best helping himself and his mother:

"I knew early on that financial literacy was my way out, and a way to be able to help out my mother. So I just went into being a great student about financial literacy and how to unlock that for my family and myself."

Alex Rodriguez admits his mother, Lourdes, can out-drink him at 89 years old

In the same interview, Alex Rodriguez humorously stated that his mother, although 89 years old, can still out-dance and out-drink him. This is something, considering Rodriguez once had a reputation for having a wild lifestyle.

"She's 89 today, and she can out-dance me and out-drink me. We recently had a holiday party and I was in bed at 2 a.m., and I woke up the next day and everyone was like, 'Yeah, your mom was up till 5:30 drinking!' I was like, 'Wow mom.' But she's amazing."

Alex Rodriguez had a glittering MLB career that while marred by allegations of PED use, has not diminished his popularity among fans, particularly among the New York Yankees fanbase.