Becomes the second-youngest player to reach 250 career hrs.

May 1, 2002 -- The highest paid athlete in sports reached another milestone last night.

At the young age of 26, Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez hit his 250th career home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Sky Dome.

Rodriguez became the second-youngest player to reach 250 homers, and Kenny Rogers had another strong start as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3.

A-Rod, who is 26 years, 277 days old is only a few days older than Hall of Famer, Jimmie Foxx (26 years, 269 days) when he hit No. 250. Jimmie Foxx finished his career with 534 home runs.

"I feel very good about 250 and fortunate to reach it at such a young age. But I have to give credit to guys who have hit around me like Edgar Martinez (his teammate in Seattle) and Rafael Palmeiro," A-Rod said. "You really don't think about reaching 250, but I feel very happy about it." 

The home run also gave Rodriguez 61 homers in 186 games since joining the Rangers last season, and it tied Ivan Rodriguez's team record for homers in April with nine.

Rodriguez’s home run was a two-run shot came on a 3-2 pitch from Luke Prokopec (1-3) in the third inning. It was hit so hard that Blue Jays right fielder Raul Mondesi didn’t even bother trying to run after it.

Afterward, talk turned to Rodriguez's chances of breaking Hank Aaron's career record of 755. 

"There's no doubt in my mind that I think he has a shot at it," Texas manager Jerry Narron said. "I know he has a
real passion for the game, and that won't ever leave him. There's no doubt that if anybody has a shot at (Hank Aaron's all-time homer mark of) 755, he does. "

"It's extremely flattering," Rodriguez said. "But I'm in step two or three of a 1,000-step bridge."

This is A-Rod's 9th year in the Major Leagues and has a career .310 batting average.

Web site design, development and maintenance by
  Latino Legends in Sports.™
© Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved.