$28 million for one guy? It’s amazing

An Associated Press investigation has revealed the obvious: Alex Rodriguez makes a lot of money.

But even A-Rod was surprised by the news that he makes more than the combined salaries of his hometown Florida Marlins.

Rodriguez tops the Major League Baseball salary list at $28 million. The 33 players on the Marlins’ opening day roster and disabled list will earn $21.8 million.

“The Marlins? It’s amazing,” Rodriguez said. “And they still seem to find a way to be very competitive. . . . To win two championships in 11 years, that’s really admirable, and I’m very proud of that organization, being from Miami.”

He should be. Those two championships are two more than he has.

Trivia time

Who was the first major league player to be paid more than an entire team?

Such a card

The Topps trading card company revealed Tuesday what many collectors had long suspected: Kazuo Uzuki was an April Fool’s joke.

Topps had released a “Future Stars” card touting Uzuki as a 16-year-old pitcher who hit 104 on the radar gun and was nicknamed “The Uzi.”

Those fluent in Japanese realized almost immediately that this was a prank because Kazuo Uzuki translates to “first son of April.”

More fools

Michael Ventre of NBCsports.com believes that David Beckham’s attempt to rejuvenate soccer in the U.S. should come with a laugh track.

“Sorry, I won’t fall for that tired gag,” Ventre wrote. “It’s the sports equivalent of ‘Your shoelace is untied.’ The British star and his wife came to the U.S. with a big splash and a multimillion-dollar deal with the L.A. Galaxy. But when he wasn’t playing for England for some obscure cup, he was sitting in a whirlpool bath refusing comment.

“Beckham wasn’t a soccer player last season, he was a photo op. And one of those doctored Bigfoot photos to boot.”

See no evil

The Chicago Cubs struck a deal four years ago with building owners whose rooftops offer views of games at Wrigley Field, but at least one owner hasn’t ponied up the 17% of his profits he agreed to pay.

Now the club is threatening to construct wind screens or other obstructions that would hinder viewing if Tom Gramatis doesn’t pay before a homestand that begins April 15.

Maybe Gramatis is secretly hoping for that so he doesn’t have to watch the Cubs fail to win the World Series for the 100th consecutive season.

Scot-free Masters

Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie criticized the Masters this week for offering invitations to Liang Wen-chong of China, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, but not inviting him, hinting that organizers are seeking to boost television ratings in Asian countries.

“It’s a strange way to make up a field for a major championship -- TV rights,” Montgomerie told British newspaper the Guardian. “It would be easier to swallow if no one was invited and the entry list was based on sporting and not commercial criteria.”

Liang, Marksaeng and Singh are ranked 111th, 93rd and 80th in the world, respectively, while Montgomerie is No. 75.

The top 50 earn automatic invites, so we offer this simple solution to keep Monty from crying: Play better.

Trivia answers

Albert Belle, who made $10 million with the Chicago White Sox in 1997. The Pittsburgh Pirates had an opening-day payroll of about $9.1 million that season.

And finally

Andy Roddick announced his engagement Monday to swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, a move that the 25-year-old heartthrob said might cost him.

“I think I lost half my fan base today,” he said.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com