NEW YORK — If Derek Jeter hitting a home run for his 3,000th hit was something out of a movie script, then consider Alex Rodriguez doing the same thing the sequel.
Of course, Jeter’s milestone on July 9, 2011 against David Price was merely another episode in a charmed career that ended with a game-winning hit in his final home game.
For Rodriguez, his milestone hit was the latest scene in what has become a redemption story that might be picked up as a movie of the week.
“Everything about this year has been a surprise,” Rodriguez said after getting his 3,000th hit on the first pitch he saw from Justin Verlander in Friday’s 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. “I’ve never enjoyed the game as much as I have this year.”
Once scorned and despised by many throughout baseball, Rodriguez’s home run continued a remarkable reversal that has included standing ovations at Yankee Stadium and even posing for a photo with new commissioner Rob Manfred at a youth baseball event on the site of the old Yankee Stadium on Thursday. The hit came over a year after he fought Manfred and the rest of Major League Baseball before accepting the 162-game suspension for PED usage, something he admitted to in 2009 but was not suspended for.
When the suspension was originally announced as a 211-game ban on Aug. 5, 2013, many thought Rodriguez would never play again. Rodriguez did for 44 games while appealing the ban but since he was coming off a second hip surgery, his performance suffered.
After having last year out of the spotlight, Rodriguez has surprised many, including himself. His 3,000th hit was his 13th home run and fourth milestone of the season.
Rodriguez’s run of milestones began May 7, when he moved past Hall of Famer Willie Mays into fourth place in major league history with his 661st home run against Baltimore. That triggered a $6 million bonus in Rodriguez’s contact that the Yankees don’t intend to pay and he does not intend to fight.
On May 27, Rodriguez hit a three-run homer against Kansas City to surpass Babe Ruth (1,982) and Lou Gehrig (1,993) for most RBIs in the American League.
Last Saturday, Rodriguez drove in career runs No. 2,000 and No. 2,001 to join Hank Aaron as the only players with 2,000 RBIs.
Tainted or not, Rodriguez is in rare company with his milestones and based on the reaction at Yankee Stadium, it was something that anyone present will always remember.
However, it could have been more memorable if not for Rodriguez’s dubious past. It took him nearly six years to get 500 hits due to injuries and his suspension.
And when the milestones began trickling in, the Yankees have done little to acknowledge it. The magic numbers of 660, 714, 755, 762 and 763 were supposed to trigger “marketing bonuses” of $6 million but instead those figures were mostly ignored.
This number is interesting because of the rare company but it also should be more historic and more celebrated. And the reason Rodriguez needed a redemption season in the first place is because of his past transgressions.
About the only thing that went wrong Friday was having the wrong guy catch the ball.
Jeter’s home run was caught by Christian Lopez, who was more than eager to return it. Rodriguez’s ball was caught by Zack Hemple, a 38-year-old fan, who told the Yankees via twitter that he wasn’t giving the ball back and was talking to team executives Randy Levine and Lonn Trost about it.
“The thing that I was thinking about was where Jeet’s guy,” Rodriguez said to laughs in the interview room. “Where’s that guy? I wasn’t so lucky. Again I’m just fortunate and grateful and really having a good time this year.”