Alex Rodriguez now stands alone in fifth place on the all-time home run list with 631 surpassing his former teammate and friend Ken Griffey Jr. In the history of baseball only Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) have amassed more. With a strong push in 2012, A-Rod may be able to catch Willie Mays.
A-Rod, in his ninth season with the Yankees, has hit 285 of those 631 career home runs in Pinstripes. He also played spoiler hitting this very historic home run on the same day the Red Sox celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park. He did it iconic fashion, hitting it over the Green Monster.
“I think it's interesting,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said about A-Rod climbing up the home run chart. “I think it's something to follow. It's amazing what he's done in his career. You look at the home runs, the RBIs, the runs that he's scored; you look at the stats that they put on the board and they're amazing. So I think it puts a little interesting sidebar on our season and it's something people will follow.”
Rodriguez is also amazed at the names he is passing on the home run list, however, passing Griffey Jr. is certainly a very sweet name to pass for him being they were teammates and close friends in Seattle. “It definitely means I'm getting old that's for sure,” he said. “Obviously Grif (Ken Griffey Jr.) is special to me because we came up together. It was kind of the same relationship that Melky [Cabrera] and [Robinson] Cano had with me. He was a teammate, a mentor and a brother, so you know it is kind of special.”
A-Rod is now in elite company on the home run list.
