A-Rod joins the 600 club

Alex Rodriguez ended his drought, finaly hitting career home run No. 600 in the first inning against the Blue Jays this afternoon. The milestone 600th homer was a two-run blast that came off righty Shaun Marcum and landed on the net over Monument Park in center field.The home run comes three years to the day that he hit home run No. 500. A-Rod is now the seventh player to hit 600 home runs, joining the ranks of Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa in the exclusive club.

The pressure mounted as It took A-Rod nearly two weeks between home runs 599 and 600. It was a span of 13 games and 47 at-bats that began to feel like it would never end. He entered today’s game in an 0-for-17 slump. A-Rod, 35, is the youngest player to reach the prestigious 600 club. The achievement does not come without some reservations. Rodriguez was outed for steroids before last season and also admitted using performance-enhancing drugs while he was with the Texas Rangers. He had also been treated by Toronto-based Dr. Anthony Galea, who is now being investigated for distributing human growth hormone to professional athletes.

This is the latest chapter in Rodriguez’s up-and-down career as a Yankee. Since joining the team in 2004 , Rodriguez has won two MVP awards but also has been the object of fans’ scorn for failing to come through in the clutch.Things all changed last season for Rodriguez when he stayed out of the tabloids and took on the mantle of “Mr October” helping the Yankees to the World Series title. Rodriguez has been battling a series of health issues over the past two years and is not the same power hitter he once was. Today’s home run was the 17th of the season .

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