When Alex Rodriguez's half-brother Victor was ignorant of Yankees icon's stardom owing to family rift

In A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez, a definitive biography on Alex Rodriguez by Selena Roberts, the author mentions how the Yankees icon's estranged paternal half-brother had been completely unaware of his baseball career until 1994.

Apparently, the ignorance happened because of family dynamics in Rodriguez family.

It goes back to the year 1985 when A-Rod was just 10. Victor Sr., his father, made left behind his young son and wife, forever altering the trajectory of their lives. Consequently, the ex-Yankees shortstop lost touch with his paternal family.

On the other hand, in 1980, Victor Jr. left his hometown of Miami to serve in U.S. Air Force. Over the ensuing two decades, he was stationed in European countries like Turkey, Egypt, Germany, and Italy. The call of duty took him far from the familiar pulse of American life. Amidst his gallant service, Victor Jr. remained blissfully unaware of Alex Rodriguez's MLB achievements.

“I’d come back to the States briefly, see ‘Alex Rodriguez’ in the paper, but, really, what were the chances?” he recalls. “I didn’t know until my father said, maybe around 1994, ‘Do you know your brother is playing in the major leagues?’”

In the 1993 MLB draft, the Seattle Mariners made Rodriguez their top pick, and just a year later, at 18 years old, he stepped into the major leagues for his debut.

Here is an excerpt from the book, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez.

In 2003, Victor Jr. returned to United States and was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base. This military outpost was located strategically close to the home ballpark of Texas Rangers, the team A-Rod was playing for back then.

As he purchased a ticket for a game on August 16, the thought of seeing Alex sent ripples of excitement through Victor Jr.'s heart. However, he harbored no intentions of intruding in Alex's life.

Coincidentally, a few weeks later, he got a call from Alex's ex-wife, Cynthia.

“Alex’s wife got in touch with us and said, ‘Let’s get together,’ ” Victor Jr. recalls. “She mentioned the date, and I said, ‘Oh, no— that’s too eerie. Because I have tickets for that very same day.’”

Victor Sr., along with Victor Jr. and a lively bunch of grandchildren, crossed paths with Cynthia at the stadium.

The center of attention, of course, was Alex. That day, the former MLB All-Star, went 1 for 3 with two walks, three runs scored, and a stolen base.

New York Yankees icon Alex Rodriguez was raised by her mother single-handedly defying all odds

Alex Rodriguez with his mother at Tampa Bay Rays v New York Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez's father, Victor Rodriguez, departed, leaving his mother Lourdes Rodriguez with the weight of providing for the family.

However, Lourdes courageously embraced numerous jobs to make ends meet. By day, she assumed the role of a secretary at a local immigration office, and as night fell, she worked as a waitress in a restaurant.

However, her sacrifices bore fruits when the Seattle Mariners opted for Rodriguez as their top pick in the 1993 MLB draft. Alex sealed a three-year contract valued at $1.3 million, along with a generous $1 million signing bonus.

With his million-dollar earnings in the major leagues, Rodriguez gifted his mother a home and a car in a heartwarming gesture.