Finally…A-Rod Hits No. 600

August 4, 2010 12:16 PM

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MLB, Sports

arod385 Finally...A Rod Hits No. 600

After a dozen games and nearly 50 at-bats, Alex Rodriguez achieved one of baseball’s elite milestones, hitting his 600th career home run today. The Yankees’ third baseman connected in the first inning off of Shaun Marcum of the Toronto Blue Jays, drawing a huge ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd. The historic shot came on a 2-0 fastball with Derek Jeter on base, and went out to dead center field. The man known as “A-Rod” entered the game in an 0-for-17 drought, having gone 12 games since hitting his last home run on July 22nd against Kansas City. He had gone 46 at-bats and 51 plate appearances stuck on 599.

The home run comes three years to the day of Rodriguez’s 500th home run, which came on August 4, 2007 off of Kyle Davies of the Royals. A-Rod is the youngest player to achieve 600 home runs, just a week past his 35th birthday. Babe Ruth hit his 600th at age 36. Rodriguez also joins Ruth as the second player to hit number 600 while wearing Yankee pinstripes.

While Rodriguez has been a superstar since he originally came up with the Seattle Mariners in the mid-90s, his legacy was tainted in the eyes of some when a failed test for performance-enhancing drugs was revealed two years ago. The test dates to 2003, when Rodriguez played for the Texas Rangers. He later admitted to taking the substance while training with his cousin during the off-season, and apologized.

Rodriguez joined the exclusive 600-homer club that includes Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), and Sammy Sosa (609).