By Barry Millman
Alex Rodriguez's march up the career home run list was accompanied by a lot of noise about marketing and milestones and other media-driven minutiae. But the fact is Alex has hit the fourth most home runs all-time.
It's done. Over. Finito. He's fourth. Get over it. Time for the next order of business.
All-Star balloting is underway, and the fact is if Alex doesn't win a spot in that game the Yankee fan base doesn't deserve a pennant this or any other year-- and neither does anyone else who considers themselves a true fan who appreciates the sport. As I wrote in a story two days ago, he's authoring a comeback story for the ages this season -- and whatever your opinions may be of him personally or of his career stats professionally, there can be no doubt that what he's doing at the plate THIS year is a whole different animal that should be judged on its own merits.
This is an updated version of a similarly titled story I wrote more than a week ago, and the only things that have changed are the numbers, and they just keep getting better by the day.
As of Sunday morning, May 10th, of the nine designated hitters with a minimum 125 plate appearances, Alex ranks:
*First in Home Runs: 10
*First in At Bats per Home Run ratio: 12.4
*First in Slugging: .565
*First in OPS: .918
*Tied for First in Extra Base Hits: 18
*First in WAR: 0.9
*Second in walks: 19
*Second in Runs Scored: 21
*Tied for 2nd in RBI: 22
*Third in On Base Percentage: .354
*First in Isolated Power: .315
*Tied for fewest grounded into double plays: 2
*First in secondary average: .468
Among ALL American League hitters at ANY position, he's tied for third in HR, 4th in extra base hits, 7th in slugging percentage, 10th in OPS, 15th in RBI and 21st in runs scored.
So there you have it -- the case for All-Star Alex. It's legit. It's compelling. It's a Yankee that deserves everyone's vote no matter which team is your favorite.
For Yankee fans, it's time to ante up and give Alex the only bonus that really matters and one he's truly earned. Click on the MLB All-Star ballot here right now and vote for him with your head held high.
Time to #FORG1V3 and #BEL13VE.
You can email Barry Millman at nyyankeefanforever@ymail.com. Follow him on Twitter @nyyankeefanfore.
