3891. Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez

Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975) is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
Rodriguez is considered one of the best all-around baseball players of all time. He is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939, and the youngest to hit 600, besting Babe Ruth's record by over a year. Rodriguez has fourteen 100-RBI seasons in his career, more than any player in history. On September 24, 2010, Rodriguez hit two home runs, surpassing Sammy Sosa's mark of 609 HRs, and became the all-time leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent.
In December 2007, Rodriguez and the Yankees agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract. This contract was the richest contract in baseball history (breaking his previous record of $252 million).
In February 2009, after previously denying use of performance-enhancing drugs, including during a 2007 interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Texas Rangers due to what he called "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.

Rodriguez was drafted first overall by the Seattle Mariners in 1993. He was signed by Roger Jongewaard right out of high school. In 1994, Rodriguez played for Seattle's AAA affiliate, the Calgary Cannons. In 32 games, he had 37 hits in 119 at bats for a .311 batting average. He also compiled 6 home runs and 21 runs batted in. Rodriguez rose rapidly through the Mariners organization, and made his major league debut as the starting shortstop on July 8, 1994, in Boston at 18 years, 11 months, and 11 days of age. He was just the third 18-year-old Major League shortstop since 1900. He was also the first 18-year-old Major League player in 10 years, and the youngest position player in Seattle history. His first Major League hit was a single off Sergio Valdez on July 9 at Fenway Park. Rodriguez's first Major League campaign lasted just one month; the season was cut short by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.
Rodriguez then split most of 1995 between the Mariners and their AAA club, the Tacoma Rainiers. He connected for his first Major League home run off Kansas City's Tom Gordon on June 12. Rodriguez joined the Major League roster permanently in August, and got his first taste of postseason play, albeit in just two at-bats. Again, he was the youngest player in Major League Baseball.

3415. Kerry Lee Wood

Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is a National Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Wood recorded over 200 strikeouts in four out of his first five seasons, with a high of 266 in 2003.
Wood has struggled with injuries throughout his career, being placed on the disabled list 14 times in the 13 seasons of his major league career. He missed the entire 1999 season due to elbow surgery in spring training. In recent years, he has had three serious arm injuries, and started only a total of 14 major league games from Opening Day 2005 through the middle of 2006. Wood returned to the Cubs during the 2007 season as a relief pitcher, and served as the team's closer in 2008.

Wood became a phenomenon while attending MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, for his first three seasons of high school baseball. He continued his domination of batters at Grand Prairie High School in his final season as a high school player.

The Chicago Cubs drafted Wood as the fourth overall selection in the 1995 Amateur Draft. He spent three years playing in the Minor Leagues. His best season in the Minors came in 1996, when he posted a 10-2 record for the Daytona Cubs. He also played for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. In 1997 he led all minor league pitchers in walks, with 131.

A prospect in the minor leagues, Wood made his first appearance in the Major Leagues on April 12, 1998. In his fifth career start, on May 6, he threw a one-hit, no walk, 20-strikeout shutout against the Houston Astros, tying Roger Clemens' record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game and breaking Bill Gullickson's single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980. To date, Wood and Bob Feller are the only two pitchers to strike out their age in one game (at age 17, Feller struck out 17 batters in one game in 1936). Wood allowed only two baserunners: an infield single by Ricky Gutiérrez, and hit Craig Biggio. The single, off third baseman Kevin Orie's glove, was close enough that some fans lobbied to have it changed in scoring to an error, which would have given Wood a no-hitter. The game is considered by many to be the most dominant pitching performance in the history of baseball.
Wood finished the 1998 season with a 13–6 record; despite missing the last month of the season with elbow soreness, he easily won the National League Rookie of the Year award. He pitched one game in the playoffs, losing against the Atlanta Braves.

2689. Davis No 30

Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is a former American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League from 1995 to 2001. Davis was drafted by the Broncos in the sixth round (196th pick overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. Davis is the Denver Broncos all-time leading rusher, with 7,607 rushing yards. As a player, he was given the nickname "T. D." by players, fans and the media; this denoted both the initials of his first and last name as well as being an abbreviation for touchdown.

2150.

2115. No. 36 Player

1827. Travis Alan Pastrana

Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983, in Annapolis, Maryland, USA) is a motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some friends of his. For 2011, Pastrana has partnered with NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. He will drive the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for 7 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.^[1]

1826. Jason Gilbert Giambi

Jason Gilbert Giambi (pronounced /dʒiˈɑːmbi/; born January 8, 1971) is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.
He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage three times, and in doubles and in slugging percentage once each, and won the Silver Slugger award twice.
Giambi took performance-enhancing drugs during his career, for which he has publicly apologized.
Giambi was named one of the Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness.^[1]

1795. Gennaro Gattuso

Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso (born 9 January 1978, in Corigliano Calabro, Italy) is an Italianfootballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is a hard tackling player and in his prime was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. During his career at Milan, he has won the Champions League, in 2002–03 and 2006–07, and also the Serie A title in 2003–04 and 2010-11. He also had a key role in Italy's World Cup victory in 2006.

Gattuso has been capped seventy three times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.

He was one of the key players in Italy's World Cup-winning team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine. He and Pirlo formed a formidable partnership in the heart of midfield. Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his post-match celebrations after Italy won the World Cup, during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch in his underwear, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up.

In the Euro 2008, when both of them had to miss the quarterfinal match against Spain due to accumulated yellow cards, coach Donadoni had a hard time finding replacements as none of the reserve players could match the lung-bursting contribution of the Milan duo. Italy went on to lose 4–2 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. On June 2010, he announced that he would retire from international duty after the 2010 World Cup.^[12]

1709. Alberto Gilardino

Alberto Gilardino (born July 5, 1982 in Biella, Piemonte) is an Italian football (soccer) player, who is a striker for AC Milan and the Italian national team. He was member of the Italian team which won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 


He played for the Italian national football team during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, winning the bronze medal. He also led Italy's Under 21 team to victory in the 2004 European Under-21 Football Championship. He also played for 2002 European U-21 Football Championship Qualifying round against Hungary and playoff for Final Tournament, against Poland home legs. He played for Italian U-18 team, reached Intermediary round of 2000 European Under-18 Football Championship.

Gilardino was a member of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in the first two matches, scoring a goal against USA with a diving header. He came on as a substitute in the semi-final match versus Germany, hitting the post in extra-time and providing the pass for Alessandro Del Piero's stoppage time goal that sealed Italy's 2-0 victory. 

1708. Pierluigi Collina

Pierluigi Collina (born 13 February 1960) is a former Italian football referee. He is regarded as the best referee of all time, and an iconic figure.

1648. David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE^[2] (born 2 May 1975)^[3] is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer,^[4] having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C. Milan, as well as the England national team, for whom he holds the all-time appearance record for an outfield player.^[5]
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.^[6] During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.^[6] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,^[7] clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.^[8] In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy,^[9] signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010.

1642. Terrel Davis

Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is a former American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League from 1995 to 2001. Davis was drafted by the Broncos in the sixth round (196th pick overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. Davis is the Denver Broncos all-time leading rusher, with 7,607 rushing yards. As a player, he was given the nickname "T. D." by players, fans and the media; this denoted both the initials of his first and last name as well as being an abbreviation for touchdown.

1466. Chris Chelios

Chris Chelios (pronounced /ˈtʃɛli.oʊs/; born Christos Kostas Tselios on January 25, 1962) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently the Executive Adviser toKen Holland, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, a role that Steve Yzerman held before leaving to become general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Chelios played for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, andAtlanta Thrashers. When he was called up from the AHL's Chicago Wolves to play for the Thrashers during the 2009–10 NHL season, Chelios was the oldest active player in the NHL - and the second oldest of all time - had played the most games of any active player in the NHL, was the last player from the 1981 NHL Entry Draft still active (or any draft from 1986 and earlier), and had the most career penalty minutes of any active player. On November 24, 2006, he played in his 1,496th NHL game, the most of any American-born player, passing the record total of Phil Housley. In the 2008–09 season, he appeared in the playoffs for an NHL record 24th time, having missed the playoffs only twice (1997–98 and 2009–10) in his entire career. Chelios is of Greekheritage. His cousin, Nikos Tselios, has also played professional hockey and is a former first round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes.

1399. Randy William Bass

Randy William Bass (ランディ・バース^?) (born March 13, 1954 in Lawton, Oklahoma) is a former American baseball player and current politician. He is less notable for his career in Major League Baseball than for his success in Japan's Hanshin Tigers of Central League, where he had the most spectacular run of any American to ever play in Japan. Currently, Bass is a Democratic State Senator from Oklahoma, representing District 32 since 2004.

Bass came up with the Minnesota Twins as a first baseman in 1977. In his six seasons in the Major Leagues (divided among five teams), he was never a day-to-day player, usually coming off the bench just to pinch hit. After his contract expired following the 1982 season, Bass signed with the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League, who made him their starting first-baseman. Bass is often credited as single-handedly turning the fortune of the Tigers which resulted in the team's run and eventual victory of the Japan Series in 1985.
Bass took advantage of the differences between Japanese and American styles of pitching, and immediately became the Tigers' star slugger. He won four consecutive league batting titles; in 1986, he nearly became the first player in Japan to bat .400, finishing the season with a .389 average, a record that still stands, despite Ichiro Suzuki's formidable challenges to it in 1994 and 2000. Bass won consecutive batting Triple Crowns (1985 and 1986), a feat no player has accomplished in the U.S. Major Leagues since the 1960s. In 1985, he was on a pace to break Sadaharu Oh's record of 55 home runs in a single season, but fell short by one, because in the last game of the season the pitcher from Oh's Yomiuri Giants threw only intentional walks (allegedly to prevent the Westerner from breaking Oh's record).^[1] In Japan, his spectacular performance is a legend and among Tigers fans; he is nearly deified, being jokingly referred in conjunction with God and Buddha, "Kami-sama (God), Hotoke-sama (Buddha), Baasu-sama (Bass)" (sama is an honorary variation of "san" similar to Sir or His holiness).

1398. Todd Bertuzzi

Todd Bertuzzi (born February 2, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward, he has additionally played in the NHL for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames.
Selected 23rd overall by the New York Islanders in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, he played at the junior level with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons. In 1995–96, he played his rookie season with the Islanders. After two-and-a-half seasons with the club, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, his longest tenured team in the NHL. He enjoyed the most successful seasons of his career with the Canucks, including NHL First Team All-Star honours in 2003.
In March 2004, Bertuzzi became infamously known for his on-ice actions against Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, punching him from behind in retaliation to an earlier hit against teammate Markus Näslund. He was suspended by both the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) before being reinstated in August 2006. Legally, he was conditionally discharged in a British Columbia court and was sued by Moore in both Colorado and Ontario.
After seven-and-a-half seasons with Vancouver, Bertuzzi was dealt to the Florida Panthers, with whom he briefly played for until being traded again to the Red Wings. He then played single seasons with the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames before returning to Detroit in 2009. Internationally, Bertuzzi has competed for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, as well as the 1998 and 2000 World Championships.

1385. Ryuso Morioka

Ryuzo Morioka (born 7 October 1975 in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a former Japanese football defender.
He was capped 38 times for the Japanese national team between 1999 and 2003. He played one game at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was also a part of the Japanese 2000 Summer Olympics squad.

Ryuzo Morioka is a hardnosed defender who was the centerpiece of the Shimizu S-Pulse defence for most of his career. Morioka actually had some difficulty breaking into the lineup, at first. When he entered the league with Kashima Antlers, he could not find a spot in the lineup despite his obvious talents, and after his rookie season he requeste a transfer to Shimizu S-Pulse. At that time, S-Pulse fielded several national team players including Toshihide Saito and Katsumi Oenoki, so even there it was almost a year before he established himself as a regular starter.
But by 1998, Morioka was clearly a rising star in the league, and he was even briefly considered for inclusion in the 1998 World Cup squad. By the time Phillippe Troussier took over, Morioka was entering his prime, and his quick reflexes and positioning instincts made him an ideal choice to fill one of the slots in Troussier's "flat three" defence. Morioka played a central role in the Japanese national team throughout the Troussier Era, establishing himself as a regular starter by late 1999 and making a major contribution to Japan's victory in the 2000 Asian Cup.
But after serving as one of the most constant elements of Troussier Japan for three years, Morioka was felled by a string of bad luck. In early 2002 he injured his hamstring, and spend the months leading up to the 2002 World Cup struggling desperately to get back into shape in time to take part. June 4, 2002 was both the highlight of his career and its most tragic moment. The valiant effort he had made over the first six months of the year allowed him to win his way back into the lineup. When the national anthem played at the start of Japan's opening match against Belgium, Morioka stood proudly on the pitch, with the captain's armband proudly on his arm. But in the 73 minute -- just moments after Japan scored the go-ahead goal -- tragedy struck. As he lunged into a tackle, his hamstring tore once again, and he was forced to limp off the pitch, handing over the armband to Tsuneyasu Miyamoto. The injury prevented him from participating in the remainder of the tournament, and while Miyamto's career as Japan NT captain took off, Morioka faded into the shadows.

199. Michael Jerome Irvin

Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN's NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. Irvin was self-nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his college career. He played college football at the University of Miami. In 2007, he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Irvin is also known as one of "The Triplets" along with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. The Triplets highlighted the Dallas Cowboys' offense in the 1990s that won three Super Bowls.
He competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars. Irvin was the 9th contestant to be eliminated.

198. Demond "Bob" Sanders

Demond "Bob" Sanders (pronounced Dee-mund) (born February 24, 1981 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is a professional American football safety who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. Sanders was drafted in the second round (44th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at the University of Iowa.
Sanders was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and is known for being the integral part of the Colts' postseason defense that led the team to a victory in Super Bowl XLI. He was nicknamed "The Hitman" because of his hard hits and tackles, and was also called by former Colts' coach Tony Dungy "The Eraser" because he tends to erase the mistakes of his teammates.

186. Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗 Suzuki Ichirō?), usually known simply as Ichiro (イチロー Ichirō?) (born October 22, 1973) is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for base hits with 262. He has had ten consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player, surpassing Wee Willie Keeler's streak of eight. Pete Rose, who had ten non-consecutive 200-hit seasons, is the only player with the same amount as Ichiro.
Ichiro moved to the United States in 2001 after playing nine years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Posted by Orix after the 2000 season, Ichiro became Seattle's right fielder. The second Japanese-born everyday position player in the major leagues, Ichiro led the AL in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named Rookie of the Year and MVP.
Ichiro is the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He has been voted onto ten All-Star teams by the fans, winning the 2007 All-Star MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Ichiro has won a Gold Glove award in each of his first ten years in the major leagues, and has had six hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27.
Ichiro's agent Tony Attanasio described his client's status: "When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big."

137-139. Rockies Player No. 1

This wonderful Stackable toy or Nesting Dolls (Matryoshka Dolls) of a Major League Baseball character was actually a Christmas Kriss Kringle gift from Paul Ranon a colleague of mine in the Manila Bulletin. I am really elated when I received this gift, I thought for sure I was going to get photo albums or soaps for our exchange gifts.

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