A-Rod’s high-school football days and other things you don't know about him

It’s hard to imagine that there are things about Alex Rodriguez we don’t know. His entire adult life — since he was drafted No. 1 overall at 17 to his final game with the Yankees at 41 — has been on public display and, at times, mercilessly ripped apart by the tabloids.

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But still, you probably don’t know everything about A-Rod. Did you know he was a really good high-school quarterback and almost went that route? Do you know about the weirdest stat in which he leads all of baseball? Or why he chose No. 13?

With retirement on the horizon, let’s delve into some strange, fascinating and lesser-known A-Rod facts:

1. Author-Rod
Like former teammate Derek Jeter, A-Rod is a published author. Of kids books. A-Rod has two books out under his name: “Hit a Grand Slam” (1998) and “Out of the Ballpark” (2012). The first one you buy for a penny on Amazon. Seems like a bargain.

2. A-Rod Field
Even though he never played there, the University of Miami’s baseball stadium is named after A-Rod. He would have gone to The U had he not gone pro. Instead, he donated $3.9 million to renovate the field and it was later named after him.

3. He almost played quarterback at The U
A-Rod was also a great high-school quarterback and Miami was one of the schools recruiting him. He opted for baseball, ultimately, but by all accounts was a top-notch football player too.

Take this, from Fox Sports’ Aaron Torres:

4. Of Oscars and A-Rod
A-Rod owns Meryl Streep’s old house in the Hollywood Hills, having bought it from the famous actress is 2014. Interestingly: The asking price was $6.75 million and he got it for $4.5 million. Shrewd, A-Rod, shrewd.

5. A-Rod loves A-Rod day
Want to know the most oddball stat in which A-Rod is the career leader? He’s hit more home runs than anyone in baseball history on their birthday. A-Rod hit his sixth birthday homer on July 27, 2015, which set the record.

6. ARod Corp, we want to go to there
There’s an actual ARod Corp and ARod goes there sometimes and the rest is a mystery. This is, by far, the best thing to happen since A-Rod joined social media. He posted this picture of himself at A-Rod Corp, which seems like a real place of business. What happens there? No clue. Does he keep regular office hours? No idea. Does someone keep the coffee hot at all hours in case A-Rod drops in after a Yankees game to work on some TPS reports? Very likely.

7. He’s a scholar
The last few years A-Rod has been pursuing his MBA, which is a great idea if he really wants to take ARod Corp to the next level. He actually started taking classes in investing and marketing when he was suspended in 2014 and as recently as this spring was working on classes toward his MBA. It’s been reported that he’s interested in finishing up at Harvard or at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

8. Strike a Pose!
We know about A-Rod’s long list of girlfriends — Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz, Torrie Wilson — but did you also know he had a thing with Madonna? When you think of Madonna dating a baseball player, you think of Jose Canseco, who dated Madonna 17 years before A-Rod. When A-Rod reportedly set his sights on the Material Girl she was 50 and A-Rod was 33. The rumors about Madonna are what allegedly led to A-Rod’s divorce.

9. Why he chose No. 13
A-Rod chose to wear the No. 13 when he joined the Yankees in honor of Dan Marino. He couldn’t wear No. 3, obviously, like he had in Seattle and Texas. So A-Rod instead honored his childhood idol, Marino, and picked No. 13. Eventually, they even got to have a catch.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz