Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod Joins Exclusive New York Yankees Home Run Club
September 7, 2012 · Jordan Ball · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Home run feats have become a norm in Alex Rodriguez‘s career and on Friday night he reached yet another.
In the top of the fifth, with Derek Jeter on base, A-Rod connected on a 1-2 pitch sending the ball well over the wall in left center at Camden Yards. The homer was the Yankee third basemen’s 16th of the season and was his 300th in pinstripes.
By reaching that milestone he became only the sixth Yankee in team history to join that 300-homer club. You may have heard of the other members. They go by the names of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra.
Not bad company to keep.
The shot was career home run 645 for the three-time MVP and his first since returning from the DL. The blast puts him only 15 away from Willie Mays, who sits at fourth all time.
After missing 36 games while recovering with a broken hand, A-Rod has been hitting the ball much better now that he is back in the lineup. In the five games since his return, he has recorded at least one hit, including two against the O’s on Friday.
Though it was only his first long-ball, Rodriguez has been flashing the power that had been MIA before his injury. He’s batting 6-for-20 (.300) over the five-game stretch, with three of those hits going for extra bases, while also driving in four runs.
If he can continue to hit at this level for the duration of the season, it will go a long way toward helping the Yankees hold off Baltimore and the surging Rays in the AL East.
*Stats are from ESPN.com and baseball-reference.com.
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