Alex Rodriguez hits 660th career homer, ties Willie Mays for fourth all-time
Alex Rodriguez arrived at a plateau Friday night that only four men before him ever have — 660 homers, a magic number in the baseball record book that A-Rod reached when he stepped up as a pinch-hitter and a delivered go-ahead shot to the Monster Seats at Fenway Park in Boston.
Six-hundred and sixty, it’s the number we associate with Willie Mays, whom A-Rod has now tied for fourth on the all-time list. There will be much debate the next few days about whether pundits and fans see A-Rod’s homer as a worthwhile milestone or a hollow honor for a fraudulent star, but the fact is, he hit it.
[Still not too late to sign up for Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball]
Rodriguez was greeted with the expected flurry of boos as his named was announced to the soldout crowd at Fenway. Facing off against Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa, A-Rod watched calmly as the first three sailed out of the zone. With the green light on 3-0, Rodriguez turned on a fastball and lined into the Monster Seats in left.
The no-doubt home run was greeted by a mixed reaction from the crowd. The fan who caught it, a Red Sox fan, immediately put two thumbs down. A-Rod was mobbed by his Yankees teammates once he reached the dugout.
This was the Yankees official reaction.
YANKEES TAKE LEAD!
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 2, 2015
They later acknowledged his historic blast in a more proper fashion.
With his homer in the 8th inning, @AROD ties Willie Mays with No. 660.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 2, 2015
A-Rod is now 54 behind Babe Ruth for third all-time. It doesn’t seem like a good bet that Rodriguez will reach 714, but he’s been surprisingly successful this season after missing a while year due to PED suspension. A-Rod’s historic homer is his sixth of the season, which is better than most expected for an almost-40-year-old with two bad hips. The Yankees have Rodriguez under contract for two more seasons and he seems keen on collecting his dollars, so he could very well think 714 is within reach.
This is A-Rod we’re talking about, so none of this is easy. Since the beginning of the season, the Yankees have been ignoring A-Rod’s pursuit of 660. They haven’t mentioned it in their media briefings or on their scoreboard milestone updates. There have been reports that the Yankees will refuse to pay Rodriguez’s $6 million bonus for tying Mays.
When A-Rod signed his 10-year, $275 million deal with the club in 2007, the Yankees included a marketing bonus in the deal. Every time Rodriguez reached a “milestone” home run, he would earn a $6 million bonus. Due to Rodriguez’s steroid use, the Yankees no longer view Rodriguez’s home runs as marketing events.
Now that 660 has flown out of the yard, this becomes the question: What happens with the money? Rodriguez has been asked about the issue, but did not directly address the question with his answer. It’s believed that he’ll fight for his $6 million bonus if the Yankees refuse to pay him. In order to do so, he would file a grievance through the Players Association.
Stay tuned, because reaching 660 was just the first part of the newest A-Rod drama.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
