In the eighth inning of Friday night's game at Fenway Park, Alex Rodriguez hit a pinch-hit solo home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. It was also his 660th career home run, tying Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time list. (Watch it here: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v97083583)
The crowd of 35,444 went silent when his pinch-hit homer -- the first of his career -- off reliever Junichi Tazawa on a 3-0 pitch, went into the seats high atop the Green Monster. The Yankees won 3-2 and his homer broke the 2-2 tie in the eighth inning.
He rounded the bases, touched home plate, and when he came to the bench, was greeted by all of his teammates, led by Yankee manager Joe Girardi.
The fan did not throw the ball back and I don't blame him one bit. Red Sox fan or not, that's a mighty valuable baseball.
The historic home run was never mentioned on the public address system, or on the scoreboard, and the announcement in the press box didn't occur until several minutes later.
"Willie Mays has always been a hero to me," Rodriguez told MLB Network after the game. "A year ago today, I never would've imagined even playing baseball. But a day like today, I think of my mother, my daughters, the people at the Boys and Girls Club where I learned to play baseball."
A-Rod came into the season with 654 career home runs after sitting out the 2014 season due to his Biogenesis related suspension. Needless to say, the validity of those 660 homers is in question.
The home run triggered a $6 million marketing bonus in A-Rod's contract, a bonus the Yankees are prepared to fight. They plan to claim Rodriguez's PED ties have rendered the milestone unmarketable.
"It was very emotional for me," said Rodriguez. "The last few years have been rough. To see their reaction...it was pretty emotional."
A-Rod is now tied with Mays and trails only Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) on the all-time home run list.
Christine O'Connor
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