Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976 - not 1978 as initially thought [1] - in the Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball player who is the current second baseman for the Texas Rangers. He signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees in 1998 and played in New York for five seasons. During his time with the Yankees, Soriano hit 98 home runs and 270 RBIs, hitting 39 and 38 of those home runs in the 2002 and 2003 seasons, respectively. In 2003 he set the record for most leadoff home runs in a season with 13.
In 2004, he was dealt to Texas as part of the trade that sent Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. The Rangers then considered dealing him to the New York Mets for pitching talent, but that trade never materialized.
On May 8, 2004, Soriano had six hits in nine innings -- the first Texas Ranger to do so -- in a 16-15, 10-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers. That same year, Soriano was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game as the starting second baseman. He hit a three-run home run off of Roger Clemens in the first inning and was named the MLB All-Star MVP.
Soriano's career began in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp, training at their Carp Academy for Dominican players. In 1997, he was promoted briefly to the varsity team, and, wearing uniform number 74, he appeared in nine games, batting .181 (2 for 17) with two walks.
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