Written by Anthony McCarron at NYDailyNews.com
You thought last season was a milestone-fest for Alex Rodriguez, but 2016 could be more of the same for the Yankee designated hitter, who is approaching some pretty gaudy baseball numbers.
A-Rod has 687 career home runs, meaning he needs only 13 more to join Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) as the only members of the 700-homer club. If Rodriguez totals 28 homers — he had 33 last year in his first season back from his drug suspension — he’ll have 715, eclipsing The Bambino’s hallowed total, one of the most recognizable stats in sports.
Three other Yankees have a shot at some interesting milestones this season, as does a longtime Bronx tormentor, David Ortiz. Here’s a look at some of the more intriguing numbers we could be celebrating in this upcoming season, thanks to some help from baseball-reference.com and its MLB Milestone Watch section.
Rodriguez, who will turn 41 in July, is no stranger to vaulting up baseball’s leaderboards. Last season, it seemed like they were stopping every other Yankee game to acknowledge some feat of his, since he passed Willie Mays’ total of 660 homers, passed Lou Gehrig for most RBI in American League history, cracked the 2,000-RBI plateau and got his 3,000th hit — a homer off Justin Verlander.
Oh, and he also tied Aaron for the most 30-homer seasons in history — 14.
Another A-Rod milestone-to-watch this year? He just needs 40 hits to tie Dave Winfield (3,110) for 20th place on the hit list. Wonder if the Yanks will have their old outfielder on hand if Rodriguez matches Winfield at home?
If you prefer negative stats, well, A-Rod needs only 86 strikeouts to tie Sammy Sosa for fourth on the all-time list at 2,306.
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