Rodriguez wins amid trade talk

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez became the second player from a last-place team to win a Most Valuable Player award, then confirmed that the Texas Rangers have approached him about a possible trade.

"Management has approached me with a situation and some choices, and I'm just going to keep my doors open right now," Rodriguez said Monday from Mexico during a telephone conference call.

Rodriguez received 242 points for the American League award in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado was second with 210 points, followed by New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada with 194.

Showing the split among the writers, 10 players received first-place votes, one short of the record set in the 1977 AL vote and matching the total in the 1947 NL vote.

Last year, Rodriguez finished second in MVP voting to Oakland shortstop Miguel Tejada and in 1996 he finished three points behind the Rangers' Juan Gonzalez.

"It means the world to me," Rodriguez said. "I'm so proud. It really is a validation to all the hard work and dedication."

Rodriguez has completed three seasons of a $252 million, 10-year contract, the richest in baseball history. He has been paid $53.5 million and gets another $500,000 on Dec. 1. He also is owed $12 million plus interest in deferred payments from the contract's first three seasons.

Rodriguez said he thought there had been talks about a possible trade with "three of four teams" but didn't elaborate.

"I did not approach management, management approached me," Rodriguez said. "I'm just going to leave the door open."

Texas general manager John Hart said last week he wasn't looking to deal his star.

"We're not having any conversations with any team about Alex Rodriguez," Hart said. "If anybody were to call, of course we'd listen."

While Rodriguez praised Texas owner Tom Hicks, he refused comment several times when asked about his relationship with Hart and manager Buck Showalter.

Rodriguez, who has the right to veto trades, said that after he was approached by the team about a possible trade, he thought about it for a few days, then gave the team "flexibility" to discuss a deal.

He realizes it would be difficult to trade such a large contract.

"I'll probably end up being the shortstop for the Texas Rangers this year, and that's fine with me," Rodriguez said.

He was picked first on six ballots, the fewest for an MVP winner since the New York Yankees' Yogi Berra in 1951. Delgado and Posada got five firsts each.

The only other player on a last-place team to win an MVP was the Chicago Cubs' Andre Dawson in 1987. Texas went 71-91 this year and has finished last in the AL West in all three of his seasons with the Rangers.

"It's been a rough three years in Texas," Rodriguez said.

He was the only player picked on every ballot. He hit .298, tied for the major league lead with 47 homers, and led the AL in runs (124) and slugging percentage (.600). He had 118 RBIs, second in the AL to Delgado's 145.

Rodriguez, the first AL MVP since 1979 without a .300 batting average, didn't think he would win this year.

"I felt like I was driving myself crazy over this award," he said.

Rodriguez joined the Rangers after the 2000 season and has led the league in homers in all three years.

Delgado hit .302 with 42 homers for Toronto, while Posada batted .281 for the Yankees with 30 homers and 101 RBIs.

Shannon Stewart, traded from Toronto to Minnesota during the season, was fourth with three first-place votes and 140 points. Boston's David Ortiz was fifth with four firsts and 130 points.

Boston's Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra, Toronto's Vernon Wells, Oakland's Miguel Tejada and the Yankees' Jason Giambi got one first-place vote each. Tejada was last year's MVP.

Rodriguez gets a $500,000 bonus added to his $21 million salary, and Stewart gets $25,000 for finishing fourth.

Because he finished 10th, Seattle second baseman Bret Boone gets an automatic $250,000 raise to $8.25 million.