A-Rod Gets His 600th HR
When Alex Rodriguez came to the New York Yankees, he carried baggage that claimed that he couldn't perform in the big game come October.
Of course, A-Rod squashed those rumors last year in the series and today, he put the doubters to rest by being the youngest player in history to join the 600 Club, and the seventh player in baseball history to reach the milestone.
Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the first inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, off Shaun Marcum. It came on a 2-0 pitch over the middle of the plate with Derek Jeter on first and two out.
The company that A-Rod joins is pretty impressive. It includes Barry Bonds (762), Henry Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Sammy Sosa (609). After Rodriguez, the next-youngest member of the 600 club is its' first — Ruth, at 36 years, 196 days.
"[I'm] definitely glad it's over and I definitely enjoyed that moment and enjoyed the win," he told ESPN after the game, a 5-1 Yankees victory that prevented a Toronto 3-game series sweep. "We needed a win today ... we needed to stop the bleeding a little bit. That's a very good team over there."
According to ESPN, of the seven players with 600 homers, Rodriguez' 46 at-bats between No. 599 and No. 600 were the longest. His 600th homer ended a 12-game homerless slump and came exactly three years to the day after his 500th homer.
Image Credit: ESPN
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