A-Rod matches Mays’ milestone with homer 660
BOSTON — Alex Rodriguez has matched Willie Mays for fourth on the career homer list by hitting No. 660, possibly setting up a legal showdown with the New York Yankees over a $6 million payment.
Rodriguez connected off Junichi Tazawa of the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning Friday night to reach the milestone with his sixth home run in a successful return from a yearlong drug suspension.
Homer 660 was hit nearly five years after he became the youngest player to reach 600 — on Aug. 4, 2010.
Because of injuries and the longest performance-enhancing drug ban in major league history, A-Rod went 1,731 days between historic homers, 306 more than Mays.
Nearing 40 with two years left on his contract with New York, Rodriguez trails only Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Bonds (762) in baseball’s elite club.
Rodriguez pinch-hit for DH Garrett Jones with the score tied 2-2 with one out in the eighth and hit a 3-0 fastball from Tazawa into the left field seats. He was booed when he came to bat and as he rounded the bases.
As he crossed home plate, he slapped hands with Stephen Drew while his teammates clapped in the dugout.
As the slugger closed in on the mark, the team virtually ignored his pursuit of Mays — leaving homer No. 660 off a list of approaching milestones.
When Rodriguez and the Yankees negotiated a 10-year, $275 million contract in 2007, they signed a separate $30 million agreement that called for $6 million each for up to five accomplishments, payable within 15 days of designation by the team. The accomplishments were contemplated to be home runs 660, 714, 755, 762 and 763.
The Yankees, though, are thinking about letting the milestone pass without a designation. A failure to make a payment likely would trigger a grievance on Rodriguez’s behalf by the MLB Players Association.