OAKLAND, Calif. — For years, Alex Rodriguez has been proclaimed baseball’s future home run king. He has cleared the fences at such a remarkable rate, reaching many milestones more quickly than any other slugger of any generation.
He also has long been among the most closely scrutinized figures in his sport, practically from the day he took his first swing in the majors on July 8, 1994, 19 days shy of his 19th birthday, to his days as one of the game’s richest stars. As he approaches his next significant accomplishment — career home run No. 600 — the focus on A-Rod figures to intensify even more, and not just because he will become just the seventh player to reach the hallowed mark. He will be the first admitted steroid user to get there.
After hitting two homers on Tuesday in Oakland, the Yankees star was three away at 597 entering a four-game series in his old Seattle stomping grounds starting Thursday night that takes New York into the all-star break.
Getting to 600 used to come with an automatic spot in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame. Yet it’s unclear how Rodriguez will be received when he does it — especially if he does it this weekend back in the Northwest city where his career took off in the mid-90s.
“Everywhere I go, people are always asking about it and you see it on the Jumbotron every game,” Rodriguez said of his total. “It’s hard to ignore it but I’m looking at 600 as first base. I want to run right through it and use it as a platform and a springboard for more to come.”
From his pro baseball beginning with the Mariners to that monster US$252-million, 10-year contract he received from Texas for his first free-agent deal at age 25, A-Rod’s career — not to mention his personal life — has been closely watched. Then came the pressures and spotlight that followed his move to the Bronx, where he was supposed to help George Steinbrenner’s club get back to regularly winning the World Series. It took until his sixth season in pinstripes to capture that elusive ring.
While home run chases generate their share of national attention and interest — think Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds-Babe Ruth and Bonds-Hank Aaron — there’s no countdown at Yankee Stadium as Rodriguez closes in on his latest feat. The hype is minor compared to the excitement about the defending World Series champions sending the majors’ biggest contingent to Tuesday’s all-star game in Anaheim. Still, there’s no denying it takes some serious production to clear the fences 600 times.
“Wow, it’s a Hall of Fame career,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s incredible production. It’s consistency for a long time to get to that point. It’s not something you see very often. Alex has been a superstar for a long time. I don’t know where the ceiling is (for him).”
Rodriguez doesn’t even turn 35 until later this month, on July 27.
That leaves plenty of years for more long balls — at least that’s what everybody expects from him.
A-Rod and others performed with some help.
Rodriguez announced in February 2009 he had used illegal performance-enhancers from 2001 to 2003 while with Texas.
McGwire finally came clean in January, just before heading to spring training as the St. Louis Cardinals’ new hitting coach. Steroids, human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs fuelled his game — including during his record-setting 70 home-run season in 1998.
So, will the skeptics soon start calling for an asterisk to go up next to A-Rod’s name? Perhaps. Or, maybe not yet but down the road.
Many believe it’s only a matter of time until A-Rod breaks Bonds’ record of 762 homers. Bonds broke Aaron’s 755 on Aug. 7, 2007, for the San Francisco Giants but hasn’t played since that season. If Rodriguez does it, he could last as home run king for a while. Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols is just more than halfway there.