I woke up today, went out to grab my morning paper, instinctively flipped to the sports section and, lo and behold, there he was, the most hated…err…controversial third baseman in all of baseball was right there on the cover.Yesterday, in a game against the Kansas City Royals, Alex Rodriguez placed himself on the cusp of history by driving out his 599th career home run against Royals reliever Robinson Tejeda in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. A-Rod’s homer, his 16th of the season, was a solo shot over the the right field wall that gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead in a game where they went on to win by a final score of 10-4. It’s hard to believe that A-rod will only be the seventh player in MLB history to join the 600 home run club. With one more big-fly, Rodgiguez will join an elite list with some of the greatest sluggers who have ever played the game: Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Sammy Sosa (609) and Ken Griffey Jr.(630).
But it seems somewhat unusual that this inevitable soon-to-be milestone isn’t garnering more attention. The 35-year-old Rodriguez has always had a flare for bringing attention to himself; whether it be selecting to do a ridiculous photo shoot, or lying about steroids, or running over pitchers mounds, this guy just knows how to manufacture controversy. Yet, when it comes to baseball, there doesn’t seem to be as much interest. Maybe it’s a sign of the post-steroid times and the baseball world just doesn’t trust or care about the milestone-type numbers anymore. Or maybe the rest of the world is more interested in wondering if A-Rod is dating Madonna or Cameron Diaz this week instead of how he is swinging at the plate. I’m eager to see the aftermath of what I predict to be an anti-climactic 600th home run.
photo credit: Keith Allison
