Alex Rodriguez is in the midst of a record-setting year, and he added another milestone to his resume Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles.
In the sixth inning, Rodriguez blasted his 30th home run of the season by sending a Kevin Gausman pitch into the left field seats at Yankee Stadium, chasing the starter from the game.
According to MLB Stat of the Day on Twitter, Rodriguez has now slammed 30 home runs in 15 seasons, which is tied for the most all time alongside Hank Aaron.
MLB.com passed along video of the historic dinger:
Sports Illustrated‘s Kenny Ducey offered a look at the top of the leaderboard following Rodriguez’s record-tying bomb:
Rodriguez—who missed the 2014 season because of a performance-enhancing drug-related suspension—snapped his streak of three straight campaigns without 30 home runs. After hitting at least 30 every season from 1998 to 2010, Rodriguez hit 16, 18 and seven during the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, respectively.
A-Rod joined MLB’s 3,000-hit club June 19 via a solo home run and recently passed Rod Carew and Rickey Henderson on the all-time hit list, milestones that have highlighted his return to form at the plate throughout the 2014 season.
Following a year off, the 40-year-old is batting .258 with 78 RBI as the Yankees’ designated hitter extraordinaire.
“What he does and what he’s been doing, I’m obviously very happy to see it, but I’m not surprised by it,” Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said, according to Newsday‘s Neil Best.
Based on the clip at which Rodriguez has crushed the ball into the stands all season long, the Yankees could prove to be a formidable contender for the AL pennant once postseason play gets underway.
A stranglehold on one of the AL’s wild-card spots for the time being is encouraging, but a late-season run that allows the Yankees to assume the top spot in the AL East would help bolster New York’s confidence entering the second season.
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