Alex Rodriguez Inching Closer to 700 Home Runs

This past weekend Alex Rodriguez hit another home run. For those keeping track of that stat, Rodriguez now has 695 for his illustrious career.

He has been hitting well of late and closing in on becoming just the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 home runs.

He would join the small elite club of Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth.

This is a big deal for baseball even if due to Rodriguez’s year long suspension in 2014 it does not seem like it.

Rodriguez had problems at the plate prior to a recent run of good hitting. It seems each time a player that is nearing a big milestone in baseball goes through a slump, his problems are tied to him being immortal.

There is no exception for Rodriguez. His manager, Joe Girardi said on Saturday that people wonder how players are going to react when they get close to milestones. He added that he did not think it has affected Rodriguez yet as he does not yet appear to be swinging for home runs.

It is possible of course that Rodriguez has slumped a bit because he is stressing over reaching the 700-home run club, but it is more likely perhaps that he has started feeling the effects of being a 40-year old whose body has had a lot of wear and tear over his 22-year career.

It is obvious that his hitting should decline with age yet people like to put the blame on other reasons not just the natural course of a player becoming old for his sport.

It appears in many of his at bats that Rodriguez is forcing and swinging at pitchers that are outside the strike zone. This tends to make it easier for opposing pitchers as they can throw their pitches outside the box knowing he is beginning to chase pitches.

In time, the veteran will reach the plateau, as he is still too talented on a team with not much hitting to sit on the bench for extended periods of time.

Of course, the chance of injury is there, but Rodriguez only plays designated hitter these days and has less of a chance of injury due to not playing in the field on a regular basis.

Rodriguez is currently hitting .220 with 8 home runs and 24 runs batted in.