"Thanks for all your help," wrote Alez Rodriguez in blue ink with a ballpoint pen, on a side panel of this displayed baseball. " I could'nt [sic] done it w/out you." Then Rodriguez signed the ball, writing "Arod". It is unknown to whom Alex was referring in his inscription, but what is known is that on September 4, 1996, Rodriguez broke the single season Seattle Mariner hit record when he singled to center in the seventh inning off the Boston Red Sox pitcher, Vaughn Eshelman in the Seattle Mariners' 7-5 loss to Boston. The offered baseball has the following inscribed in an unknown hand on the other side panel, "Alex Rodriguez Record Breaking Hits (193) 9/4/96". The record-breaking hit was #193 of the campaign for the 21-year-old Arod. He wound up the year with 215 hits to extend the record. Currently, the Mariners' season hit record is held by Ichiro Suzuki, with 262 in 2004. Rodriguez had his first big season in 1996, batting .358, with 36 home runs, 123 RBI, and a league leading 141 runs. Rodriguez was a 3-time AL MVP, a 14-time All-Star, a member of the New York Yankees World Champions in 2009. He finished his career with 696 home runs, and if not for the controversy over his admitted use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), he would surely be on his way to the Hall of Fame. The signed Official American League Baseball (Gene Budig) exhibits nice game use. There are some smudges, and possible dirt marks, with some slight toning. The ball comes with a PSA LOA.