A-Rod wears a custom Rawlings PRORV23 with a mesh back and his own personal detail on the palm.
For a guy who won back-to-back Gold Glove Awards at shortstop in the two years prior, moving to third base in 2004 with the Yankees went far smoother than one would expect for a star of Alex Rodriguez’s caliber. Not only did ARod keep any distaste for the move to himself, but he adjusted his game seamlessly to the hot corner. One of the key adjustments he made was his glove. ARod, at the start of his career, followed the lead of the quintessential new-age shortstop–the big-bodied, power-hitting Cal Ripken, Jr–wearing the same Rawlings model PRO6HF (see below).
Just for fun: Here’s one of the more memorable moments in All-Star history, when A-Rod pushed Cal over to shortstop in his final All-Star game (you can see the gloves!). Cal made the most of the moment (and a fat fastball from Chan Ho Park), hitting a laser into the visitor’s bullpen at Safeco Field.
(Sorry if the embedding doesn’t work–What Pros Wear specializes in basket-webs, not inter-webs.)
A 12-inch model, the Rawlings PRO 6HF is huge for a shortstop, usually a smaller, nimbler player (think Omar Vizquel, who wears an 11-inch). When A-Rod moved to third base, he transitioned to an even bigger glove, the 12 1/4 inch PRO RV23, a glove designed for Robin Ventura. A-Rod has been using that glove ever since, becoming one of the best third basemen in the American League. The PRO RV23 is available online but in limited quantities, and not from the traditional retailers. The models available are special orders, but you can most definitely still find them.
Rodriguez rocks Nike sunglasses. Last we saw, his specs of choice were the Skylon Ace’s (top), but we also noticed him wearing the Show-x1’s on his latest rehab stint in Tampa. The Skylon Ace sunglasses available for retail are identical to A-Rod’s, however, the Show-x1’s lenses seem to have a green tint exclusive to Alex.
Here are the links:
Rawlings PRO 6HF (A-Rod’s and Cal Ripken’s shortstop glove)
Show x1 Sunglasses (closest to A-Rod’s have a red Nike logo, though there are a navy pair that are pretty sweet)
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