Yankees' Rodriguez ties Willie Mays with 660th home run
Say hey, Alex Rodriguez has done it.
A heavy chorus of boos at Fenway Park were quickly quieted when the New York Yankees slugger drilled an eighth inning, pinch-hit home run off Boston Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa to move into a tie with Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list with 660.
Rodriguez was given the green light after working a 3-0 count and deposited the 94-mph offering into the Monster Seats. The solo shot, which traveled 419 feet and had a batted ball velocity of 117 mph, proved to be the winning run as the Yankees held on for a 3-2 win.
"I got to tell you, usually you don't hear the difference, but that booing was pretty intense, pretty passionate," Rodriguez said after the game. "I figured that 3-0 was going to be the best pitch I got, and 3-1 probably wasn't going to be a good pitch, so I just took a whack at it."
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Mays, who hit his 660th home run in August on 1973 as a member of the New York Mets, had nothing but well wishes for Rodriguez.
"Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on his 660th home run," Mays said in a statement. "Milestones in baseball are meant to be broken and I wish him continued success throughout his career."
| Rank | Player | HR | AB | HR/AB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Bonds | 762 | 9847 | 12.9 |
| 2 | Hank Aaron | 755 | 12364 | 16.3 |
| 3 | Babe Ruth | 714 | 8399 | 11.7 |
| T4 | Alex Rodriguez | 660 | 9888 | 14.9 |
| T4 | Willie Mays | 660 | 10881 | 16.4 |
Returning from a one-year suspension, the 39-year-old has pounded the ball in the early stages of the season and now has six home runs in 21 games.
It was the first pinch-hit home run of his 21-year career.
"I'm actually very excited, trying to stay in the moment," he said. "It's good to do it in a good team win."
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Rodriguez, who struck out four times in his previous game, admitted prior to Friday's contest that the milestone had become somewhat of a distraction.
"I wanted to do it Wednesday at home," Rodriguez told reporters. "It would have been nice to do it at home in front of our home fans. But now I’m on the road and the goal doesn't change."
The Yankees Twitter account even acknowledged Rodriguez's blast.
With his homer in the 8th inning, @AROD ties Willie Mays with No. 660.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 2, 2015
The question now is whether the Yankees will pay him a $6-million marketing bonus. New York has 14 days to distribute the funds, if it intends to honor the agreement despite A-Rod's reputation being smeared by PEDs.
Asked how fans should remember the home run, Rodriguez wasn't quite sure how to answer.
"I don't know," he said. "I know that I'm very excited. A year ago today I never thought I'd be hitting home runs and helping the Yankees win. Being in the middle of it is fun again."