by Leroy Coffie

Created on: August 05, 2010   Last Updated: August 06, 2010

Alex Rodriguez hit 600th home run yesterday. A-Rod hits another A-bomb for the New York Yankees. The Yankees won and are again tied for first place with the Tampa Rays in the American League East. This would have been a great accomplishment for Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod has become only the seventh Major League baseball player to reach six hundred home runs. Alex Rodriguez took thirteen games to reach this milestone. A-Rod is the youngest player in the history of Major League baseball to hit six hundred home runs. Alex Rodriguez was thirty-five years and eight days old when he reached six hundred home runs. There are six other players who have hit six hundred home runs in their careers; Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (756), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), and Sammy Sosa (609).

The question we must ask is do you really care that Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run yesterday? Last year, Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids for three years when he played with the Texas Rangers. He denied it first, until A-Rod finally admitted to cheating during the years of 2001-2003. These were three of A-Rods better years as a home run hitter. He hit 52, 57, and 47 home runs during these three years of his career. This brings up a lot of questions about Alex Rodriguez. Were these three years the only three years A-Rod used steroids? Should Alex Rodriguez have an asterisk beside his name in the record books? Is it fair to other Major League baseball players who reached this milestone without cheating? Ken Griffey Jr. Hit 630 home runs and there has never been any news about him cheating. Most people believe Bonds and Sosa cheated. We know for sure Alex Rodriguez cheated. He admitted to it under duress.  If we look at this mess logically, there are only four Major League baseball players who have reached the 600 home run milestone. These non-cheaters are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, and Ken Griffey Jr.

These are the reasons people no longer care how many home runs Alex Rodriguez hits. We are not sure how many years he really used steroids. A-Rod admitted to three years because the facts were there right in front of his face. I remember ten years ago, friends and I were calculating who would beat Hank Aaron’s home run record. We talked about Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey Jr. Ken Griffey Jr. got hurt for a few years and this ruined his chances. We loved baseball statistics so we hoped Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez would

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>