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Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Frayed Knot Aug 03 2010 08:14 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 04 2010 10:46 AM

Congrats to Pudge on his 300th HR last night. Oh, but that ARod guy is still stuck on 599. At the beginning of this "drought" he was at least hitting just not hitting HRs. Now he's like oh for his last 17 or something. Yanx lost again tonight and fall to 2nd place. Tonight Pettitte's replacement got kicked around, but that wasn't as much fun as the Jays putting up an ML-record six 2Bs in one inning on Monday, most of them off Burnett. Buck wins his debut in Bal'mer.

bmfc1 Aug 03 2010 08:14 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Snap! Well done!

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 03 2010 08:15 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Michael Kay is practically in tears calling these games, gotta love it.

Frayed Knot Aug 03 2010 08:21 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Michael Kay is practically in tears calling these games, gotta love it. I thought Kay was going to bawl about a week ago when ARod didn't get his HR before the team went to Cleveland - mainly because Kay wasn't doing the Cleveland trip (a 4 gamer too) and he figured he'd miss it. But that was about 10 games ago now.

metirish Aug 04 2010 04:49 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Yeah , well played , got me.....congrats to Pudge.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 04 2010 06:38 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I was watching the Mets-Braves on MLB Network last night, and they'd cut away from the game whenever Alex Rodriguez came to bat. (And I'd then switch to the backup telecast, the standard definition broadcast from the Extra Innings package.) Are there that many people who care about seeing his 600th home run? I imagine Yankees fans do, but they're watching the Yankees game; they're not watching the Mets and the Braves on MLB Network. The Daily News printed a list of the top ten all-time home run hitters, and I was a little surprised to see that I had seen nine of the ten play, either live or on television (or both). All except for Babe Ruth.

Ceetar Aug 04 2010 06:51 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was watching the Mets-Braves on MLB Network last night, and they'd cut away from the game whenever Alex Rodriguez came to bat. (And I'd then switch to the backup telecast, the standard definition broadcast from the Extra Innings package.) Are there that many people who care about seeing his 600th home run? I imagine Yankees fans do, but they're watching the Yankees game; they're not watching the Mets and the Braves on MLB Network. The Daily News printed a list of the top ten all-time home run hitters, and I was a little surprised to see that I had seen nine of the ten play, either live or on television (or both). All except for Babe Ruth. It's borderline. I don't really care about the home run, I wonder if fans in Seattle/Texas that might just be happening to watch whatever's on MLB would? But I really like the way MLB Network does all the around the league type stuff. I don't know if a cheater hitting a numerical milestone is worth it, but I like the way they bring you around. It sucks when they cut away from games imo, but if you think about it, you wouldn't have had that game if not for MLB Network anyway. Now the obessesive Yankee lovefest, run by Michael Kay.. *gag*

metirish Aug 04 2010 07:17 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 04 2010 07:22 AM

Not surprising that MLB would pop to the game , but I don't think there is a big buzz surrounding Rodriguez , not even sure if espn has Pedro Gomez following him around like a dog for all the insights that no one cares about.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 04 2010 07:18 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Gayrod also missed the team photo shoot for the MFYs yesterday.

soupcan Aug 04 2010 07:24 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

This remind anybody of Gary Carter being stuck on 299 for what - like 3 months?

Edgy DC Aug 04 2010 07:25 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I just love the thought of a fake ceremony. "And here come his kids, who you know he wants to share the moment with! And here comes his girlfriend... and his other girlfreind. There's Cynthia with her profantity jersey. Here's his agent... and a few more kids. That chick from Kansas City with the spray-on tan. This is really what it's all about isn't it, Susan?" "Is that his dealer coming down to the dugout now, John?" "Yes it is. A few of them, too. How wonderful that they can all share this."

metirish Aug 04 2010 07:33 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Dying over here....

Frayed Knot Aug 04 2010 07:37 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Are there that many people who care about seeing his 600th home run? I imagine Yankees fans do, but they're watching the Yankees game; they're not watching the Mets and the Braves on MLB Network. It's the MLB network and they're going to carry MLB news. I don't have a problem with it. As far a 'who cares', the steroids stink and better knowledge of stats has definitely diminished interest in 'counting records' over the years, but he'll still be just the 7th to that spot ever and it is a significant milestone. The Daily News printed a list of the top ten all-time home run hitters, and I was a little surprised to see that I had seen nine of the ten play, either live or on television (or both). All except for Babe Ruth. Off the top of my head you've potentially seen every 500+ guy except for Ott, Mantle, Foxx & Williams, which would mean like 27 of the top 30 at this point or somewhere around there. Remember that when Kiner retired with his 360-something he was 6th on the all-time list.

Gwreck Aug 04 2010 08:01 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Frayed Knot wrote: Off the top of my head you've potentially seen every 500+ guy except for Ott, Mantle, Foxx & Williams, which would mean like 27 of the top 30 at this point or somewhere around there. Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews? (Doesn't count if you were too young to remember them!)

Benjamin Grimm Aug 04 2010 08:05 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I do remember Ernie Banks as an active player, but not Eddie Mathews.

Frayed Knot Aug 04 2010 08:26 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

metirish wrote: Not surprising that MLB would pop to the game , but I don't think there is a big buzz surrounding Rodriguez , not even sure if espn has Pedro Gomez following him around like a dog for all the insights that no one cares about. Pedro issued a statement that while he'd like to be on the Alex over America tour, for the foreseeable future he is hopelessly camped out on some guy's lawn in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 04 2010 10:44 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Michael Kay is practically in tears calling these games, gotta love it. Should this stretch a month or so, I would love to see a picture-a-day thing of Michael Kay looking slightly more disheveled with each click, set to "Everyday." That is my early Christmas wish. (Well, that and the Rod being stuck on 599 until season's end, then hitting a cheap, blown-umpire's-call-even-after-review 600th into right center field on the last weekend of the season, during a MFY loss. That way, we don't have to hear about it all winter as a "subplot" of the offseason, but there's still a little fuzziness around the thing. Was it your 600th? Yes, well, technically.)

Frayed Knot Aug 04 2010 11:07 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Checking out the 500-club for the first time in a long while: - 25 members now. When I first learned it there were four 3 at 700+, 3 more (heh, heh) at 600+; and 19 more between 500 & 599 - Sheffield was the last to reach and stalled at 'just' 509 - and it looks like it'll be a while before anyone new joins. Chipper is the active leader (of those not there yet) but it's looking increasingly like he'll not reach (66 short). Nor would I bet on Vlad (428) or Giambi (412) That leaves Albert as the next likely candidate but, at 392, he's still probably three healthy seasons away so mark your calendars for mid/late-2013 StL fans. - Other than that the next possibility is maybe Adam Dunn at 342. Everyone else in the 300+ group is closer to the end than the beginning. Not that this is a HR club which should be breached every season or two, but for a while there it seemed like it was. And, btw, I seemed to have mis-read the headline which led to this thread in the first place. Turns out that it was Ivan Rod's 307th HR the other day but his 300th as a catcher. Oh well. I fucked up the facts but it all just served to allow me to get a joke in at ARod's expense and, really, isn't that the most important thing?

TransMonk Aug 04 2010 11:11 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Frayed Knot wrote: I fucked up the facts but it all just served to allow me to get a joke in at ARod's expense and, really, isn't that the most important thing? Yes!

Benjamin Grimm Aug 04 2010 11:13 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Checking out the 500-club for the first time in a long while: - 25 members now. When I first learned it there were four Four? That surprises me. I guess you're more than a couple of years older than me. I just looked it up, and the fifth player to hit his 500th home run was Willie Mays, on 09/13/1965. (The first four were Ruth, Foxx, Ott, and Williams.) By the time that I first started paying attention, in 1971, the list was up to nine, with the additions of Mantle, Mathews, Aaron, and Banks. During the 1971 season, Frank Robinson and Harmon Killebrew hit their 500ths, but I have no memory of being aware of it.

metsguyinmichigan Aug 04 2010 11:32 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Our long, national nightmare is over. The centaur has finally cleared the fence.

Farmer Ted Aug 04 2010 11:42 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Juicing Douche, admittedly. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... ?eref=sihp

Ashie62 Aug 04 2010 11:45 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Our long, national nightmare is over. The centaur has finally cleared the fence. Another PED user gets to 600 Homeruns.

Ashie62 Aug 04 2010 11:48 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I do remember Ernie Banks as an active player, but not Eddie Mathews. I miss Ott, Williams, Mathews, Foxx and Ruth.

Vic Sage Aug 04 2010 12:22 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

my brother directed and edited a sports video about the 500 home run club in 1988, hosted by Bob Costas and Mickey Mantle. http://www.amazon.com/500-Home-Run-Club ... =1-1-fkmr0 At the time he made the documentary, there were only 14 guys who had done it.

metsguyinmichigan Aug 04 2010 01:02 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Vic Sage wrote: my brother directed and edited a sports video about the 500 home run club in 1988, hosted by Bob Costas and Mickey Mantle. http://www.amazon.com/500-Home-Run-Club ... =1-1-fkmr0 At the time he made the documentary, there were only 14 guys who had done it. Hey, I have that! Sweet.

metsguyinmichigan Aug 04 2010 02:07 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Ian O'Connor tweets: Derek Jeter's 4 for 4 is just a little this-is-still-my-house reminder to A-Rod on the day of No. 600 #yankees Amazing! O'Connor's Jeterlust is truly frightening.

Frayed Knot Aug 04 2010 03:03 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

The statement issued by one of the Steinbrenner boys was almost as comical. It congratulates Rodriguez for his accomplishment in one sentence and then takes several more lauding the fact that this happened as a Yanqui and about how it adds it MFY history.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 04 2010 03:28 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I'd almost be disturbed if they handled something like this with an ounce of humility; pompousness is the brand identity.

metirish Aug 04 2010 03:37 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Just watched it on the MLB app , Kay gave it the usual "see ya" but noting too over the top. Al Leiter sounded like a slobbering fool talking about it...." oh gosh , I , I can't imagine how he feels , a great moment for him and his yankee team mates"....it looked like his team mates hugged him cos well that's the thing to do, Jeter was all over him though.

G-Fafif Aug 04 2010 04:12 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Ian O'Connor tweets: Derek Jeter's 4 for 4 is just a little this-is-still-my-house reminder to A-Rod on the day of No. 600 #yankees Amazing! O'Connor's Jeterlust is truly frightening. O'Connor jealously protects Jeter's turf by downgrading A-Rod's accomplishments. Of course, Rodriguez is the one who put Rodriguez on trial in a case that never ends. Last summer, when I asked Derek Jeter why he never went the boli route, he talked of the lessons he learned from a father who worked as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor. Jeter mentioned two other factors in his decision to play it clean: the potential side effects of steroid use, and the lethal hit of disclosure on a user's public image. "Eventually," Jeter said, "I think you're making a deal with the devil." Rodriguez's Faustian bargain came with the heaviest price. A-Rod was the only active baseball player to make Forbes' top 10 list of most disliked sports figures; Jeter was named baseball's most marketable player in a SportsBusiness Daily survey, and was the only baseball player named in the most recent Harris Interactive poll ranking America's favorite sports stars (Jeter finished third overall). A-Rod is free to add to his résumé and trophy case, and to attempt to become the first player to hit 800 home runs. But if the celebration appears muted, well, Rodriguez party-pooped his own bash. Too bad for the slugger. He could've touched them all. I get the sense O'Connor would like to touch 'em all, too -- all that are on Jeter.

Frayed Knot Aug 04 2010 09:11 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Checking out the 500-club for the first time in a long while: - 25 members now. When I first learned it there were four Four? That surprises me. I guess you're more than a couple of years older than me. I just looked it up, and the fifth player to hit his 500th home run was Willie Mays, on 09/13/1965. (The first four were Ruth, Foxx, Ott, and Williams.) By the time that I first started paying attention, in 1971, the list was up to nine, with the additions of Mantle, Mathews, Aaron, and Banks. During the 1971 season, Frank Robinson and Harmon Killebrew hit their 500ths, but I have no memory of being aware of it. I was a baseball nerd at a very young age. Not that I have a specific memory of Mays hitting his 500th, although I do remember when Denny McLain served up - and we do mean served up - #535 to Mantle so he'd pass Foxx. I also would have had trouble pegging the order of many of those guys, a thought which sent me into some research. So, in order of HR #500 NAME 500th TOTAL RUTH Aug 11, 1929 714 FOXX Sep 24, 1940 534 OTT Aug 1, 1945 511 WILLIAMS Jun 17, 1960 521 MAYS Sep 13, 1965 660 MANTLE May 14, 1967 536 MATHEWS Jun 14, 1967 521 AARON Jul 14, 1968 755 BANKS May 12, 1970 512 KILLEBREW Aug 10, 1971 573 ROBINSON Sep 13, 1971 586 McCOVEY Jun 30, 1978 521 JACKSON Sep 17, 1984 563 SCHMIDT Apr 18, 1987 548 MURRAY Sep 6, 1996 504 McGWIRE Aug 5, 1999 583 BONDS Apr 17, 2001 762 SOSA Apr 4, 2003 609 PALMIERO May 11, 2003 569 GRIFFEY Jun 20, 2004 630 THOMAS Jun 28, 2007 521 RODRIGUEZ Aug 4, 2007 600 THOME Sep 16, 2007 577 RAMIREZ May 31, 2008 554 SHEFFIELD Apr 17, 2009 509 Huge 15 year gap between Ott & Williams. Biggest one since was the nearly 10 years after Schmidt and before Murray. Been a year and a half since the last new inductee and looks like it'll be at least a 4 year gap until the next one.

Vic Sage Aug 05 2010 09:38 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

metsguyinmichigan wrote: my brother directed and edited a sports video about the 500 home run club in 1988, hosted by Bob Costas and Mickey Mantle. http://www.amazon.com/500-Home-Run-Club ... =1-1-fkmr0 At the time he made the documentary, there were only 14 guys who had done it. Hey, I have that! Sweet. The documentary goes through Schmidt in 1987. Eddie Murray made it obsolete in 1996. The last 10 guys in the club all played through the "steroid era" (arguably Murray did, too, though its unknowable at this point). Which, if any, do we think did it clean? who goes into the HOF, and who doesn't?

MFS62 Aug 05 2010 09:41 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I posted Jeter's comment about A-Rod's accomplishment in the "Quotes of 2010" thread. Later

metirish Aug 05 2010 09:58 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Oh right , it's all about team and not me......no matter how hard he tries he still comes across as a phony. A-Rod does it! New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez joins 600 home run club in 5-1 win over Jays BY Mark Feinsand DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 1:27 PM Updated: Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 3:20 PM When Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run, he felt the euphoria of a personal milestone that virtually guaranteed his entry into the Hall of Fame. Exactly three years later to the day, with his reputation sullied by the stain of steroids and his admittance to Cooperstown no longer a guarantee, A-Rod was jubilant as he reached the 600-home run plateau. But his elation, he said, was nothing compared to what he felt last November when he and his teammates celebrated the World Series title on the same field. "For me, the perspective of hitting 600 home runs, it feels really good," Rodriguez said. "But when you win a World Series - which is what I worked my whole life for - no personal achievement can compare to celebrating on the mound and being the last team standing." A-Rod ended a 13-day pursuit with his first-inning swing against Toronto's Shaun Marcum, drilling a 2-0 pitch over the center-field wall into the netting that protects Monument Park. A security guard retrieved the ball and returned it to A-Rod, who rewarded him with an autographed bat. After he crossed the plate, Rodriguez hugged Derek Jeter, who scored in front of him, then met his teammates in front of the dugout to receive their congratulations. "Everyone was so excited," Nick Swisher said. "We've been waiting on this for a while now and to finally get it done especially here at home, and the way that it happened - I mean, a home run to center field in this ballpark, man, you gotta be a big man to get up and hit it out of there. It was a great day." The Yankee Stadium crowd of 47,659 gave him a lengthy standing ovation before he came back out for a curtain call. "I felt bad for them," Rodriguez said. "I had them waiting a long, long time." As thrilled as Rodriguez was, he said he was happier the homer helped the Yankees end a three-game slide, as the Bombers salvaged the final game of their series against the Blue Jays with a 5-1 victory. "Many years from today, I'll be able to reflect a lot better," Rodriguez said. "Today, the focus was that we needed a win. It was good to do it in a winning fashion." Rodriguez, who turned 35 on July 27, is the youngest player to reach 600 homers. Babe Ruth - the only other player to hit No. 600 in a Yankees uniform - had held that distinction at 36 years, 196 days. Rodriguez has hit 255 of his homers with the Yankees, hitting 189 with the Mariners and 156 with the Rangers. No. 600 snapped a 46-at-bat homer drought for A-Rod, who also entered the game in an 0-for-17 funk. "There's no question I was pressing, because I wanted to get it out of the way to get back to playing good, small team baseball," he said. "It really felt good and it was a relief to put it past me and start focusing on good baseball." A-Rod becomes the seventh member of the 600 club, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa. A-Rod, Bonds and Sosa have all been embroiled in the steroids scandal in some fashion, and while some will surely look at Rodriguez's latest milestone with a critical eye, he insists he continues to look forward rather than to his sordid past. "I said at that press conference that there are certain things I would love to go back and change," Rodriguez said, referring to the Tampa session in February of 2009 in which he discussed his use of performance-enhancing drugs. "...I knew with the green in front of me, that I would have an opportunity to rewrite some of the chapters in my life and in my career, to try and do things right." Rodriguez is now 10 home runs away from moving past Sosa for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list. He will collect a $6 million bonus when he ties Mays and pocket an additional $6 million each time he ties Aaron, Ruth and Bonds, then a final $6 million if and when he becomes the all-time home run king. "That's something that we can revisit in two or three years and we'll see where we're at," Rodriguez said. "The journey is what's fun and playing for a team like that, with my teammates, I'm just in a good place." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... z0vkPeSPUR

Edgy DC Aug 05 2010 10:09 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Those are some amazing bonus clauses. Yesterday's homer was worth as much as Steve Austin!

MFS62 Aug 05 2010 10:18 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Edgy DC wrote: Those are some amazing bonus clauses. Yesterday's homer was worth as much as Steve Austin! That's why he listened when he heard someone say "We can make you stronger". Later

Frayed Knot Aug 05 2010 10:39 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

The thing about those O'Connor comments above is that, while he's right about what ARod and others have done as far as their reputation goes and about the big scarlet 'S' being brought up and dampening the celebration every time a milestone gets passed, he also continuing the bad reporting that helped the scandal to go on as long as it did. Years after missing a virtual epidemic in the sport he and many of his contemporary journos cover and being fooled for so long by players they simply assumed to be clean, they continue to treat certain players as their go-to exemplars of cleanliness based on nothing more than the absence of their names on some incomplete & old report combined with a vague likability factor. I mean we in NY have come to expect this treatment of Jeter but, just in the last few days, I've heard others cite the likes of Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey as members of their 'known to be clean' HR leaders list. Yeah OK, if you say so.

MFS62 Aug 05 2010 10:44 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Looking at that list above reminded me of a gamecast I heard about a week ago. IIRC it was the ESPN radio game of the week. The guys in the booth (couldn't recognize the voices) mentioned Braves sluggers in the past, going back to the 60's. They talked about it for about 5 minutes and nobody mentioned Eddie Matthews. Shame. He was goooooooood. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 05 2010 10:47 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Frayed Knot wrote: The thing about those O'Connor comments above is that, while he's right about what ARod and others have done as far as their reputation goes and about the big scarlet 'S' being brought up and dampening the celebration every time a milestone gets passed, he also continuing the bad reporting that helped the scandal to go on as long as it did. Years after missing a virtual epidemic in the sport he and many of his contemporary journos cover and being fooled for so long by players they simply assumed to be clean, they continue to treat certain players as their go-to exemplars of cleanliness based on nothing more than the absence of their names on some incomplete & old report combined with a vague likability factor. I mean we in NY have come to expect this treatment of Jeter but, just in the last few days, I've heard others cite the likes of Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey as members of their 'known to be clean' HR leaders list. Yeah OK, if you say so. That's what gets me. And it's not just sloppy and naive to do that, it actually helps hacks like O'Connor to have some go-to heroes to bash the villains with. Pee in a cup for me, Jeets.

DocTee Aug 05 2010 11:18 AM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I was surprised to learn that the plurality of his HRs came as a MFY. I also thought that performance-based incentives (tied to stats) were verbotten. All-Star appearances, post-season awards, etc are OK, but RBI and the like are not.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 05 2010 01:05 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Milestones-- as in career, not in-season-- might be exempt from the perf-based-incentives ban.

Edgy DC Aug 05 2010 01:12 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

It's also a tapdancing around it sort of thing. It's not phrased around a number, but achieving a postion on the list. Sort of like an All Star appearance.

Frayed Knot Aug 05 2010 02:05 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Edgy DC wrote: It's also a tapdancing around it sort of thing. It's not phrased around a number, but achieving a postion on the list. Sort of like an All Star appearance. Yeah. It was allowed because, rather than being looked at as some in-season target, he's being paid for career milestones and therefore they can tie it to all kinds of marketing & merchandising ploys. Of course what was really in it from the NYY point of view was their ability to 're-claim' the all-time HR record and have it back with a 'clean' player playing for the team where the record 'rightfully belongs'. Ooops! Not only is the clean part out the window but - with it taking (to the day) three years between #500 & #600 - it'll be at least five more seasons until he's in Aaron/Bonds territory which is hardly a given for someone recently turned 35 with hip problems and on pace for barely 25 in the current season. The days of him knocking off 150 in five seasons are behind him for good at this point.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 05 2010 02:08 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I agree. It's FAR from a sure thing that Rodriguez has another 163 home runs in him. Especially since he's at the age when the breakdown can come at any time. I wonder how many players have hit 163 or more home runs after their 35th birthday.

metirish Aug 05 2010 02:11 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Bonds hit 272 from the age of 35 through 42....wow

Frayed Knot Aug 05 2010 02:14 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Well, considering that he's the youngest ever to 600, at least two have hit 150 starting at an older age and at least three 114 or more. But, of course, all-time leaders almost always have great end-of-career runs - that's why they're the all-time leaders. Lots of guys have been at or ahead of Rose's pace for hits, just none have gotten anywhere close because to duplicate his early career AND his late one is the part that's so tough.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 05 2010 02:20 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

He's on a pace to hit 25 home runs this year. Assuming he sticks to that pace for the next several years (which isn't a safe assumption, of course) he'll pass Bonds in about six and a half years, when he'll be about 42. When Babe Ruth was 40, he hit 6 home runs. In the year he turned 40, Willie Mays hit 18. Hank Aaron had 20. Barry Bonds had 45. Ken Griffey Jr. had 19. Sammy Sosa was already finished.

metsguyinmichigan Aug 05 2010 03:06 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Interesting that Klapisch and Buster Olney didn't send Alex much love today, symbolic of ARod's status as a non-True Yankee. If Jeter starts breaking down as he gets close to a hits milestone, I expect them to start demanding that anytime Jeets hits into a fielder's choice, it be counted as a hit "because he deserves it."

Nymr83 Aug 05 2010 06:46 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

Huge 15 year gap between Ott & Williams. Biggest one since was the nearly 10 years after Schmidt and before Murray How much of that gap can you attribute to the war though? Williams likely hits #500 in 1955, if not sooner, if he had never served. Maybe Greenberg finds his way to 500 around 1950, given 3.5 years back from the war and then extending his career a few years to reach the milestone. Ditto Dimaggio. Musial missed only one season to the war, and was 25 homers short of 500 (but hadn't really become a HR hitter yet by the season he missed, 1945)

metsguyinmichigan Aug 05 2010 07:14 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I always wonder if Mays might have passed 700 had he not missed two years.

Edgy DC Aug 05 2010 08:43 PM Re: Rodriguez gets his milestone HR

I don't wonder. I feel pretty certain he would have. The greater drama to me is whether he would have beaten Aaron to 714. It might've been a heckuva race.