Alex Rodriguez, not in Friday’s starting lineup against the Red Sox, still managed to make history. He pinch-hit for DH Garrett Jones in the eighth inning, facing reliever Junichi Tazawa. He got ahead in the count 3-0, then slugged a 94 MPH fastball out to left field for career home run number 660, putting the Yankees up 3-2.
In achieving the milestone, Rodriguez is due the first of five potential $6 million milestone awards as part of a marketing agreement in his 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees. The Yankees, however, plan to take legal action to avoid paying out the $6 million. Their claim is that Rodriguez’s involvement in the Biogenesis scandal has made his milestones unmarketable.
Rodriguez, 39, now has six home runs, 14 RBI, and a .243/.376/.557 triple-slash line in 85 plate appearances this season, mostly serving as the DH for the Yankees.
That is A-Rod’s first career HR as a pinch hitter.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 2, 2015
.@AROD blasts home run No. 660, matching Willie Mays for 4th on the all-time list. https://t.co/WZlwZHCofo
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2015
