On Tuesday night, with his 23rd grand slam of his career, Alex Rodriguez tied Lou Gehrig for the most grand slams in the history of baseball.
With the New York Yankees down four runs in the top of the 8th against the Atlanta braves, A-Rod whacked a Jonny Venters delivery over the left field fence. He tied the game but also placed himself on top in the record books.
He is not number one yet, but he is bound to get there, which is the theme that justifies why the Yankees gave him the richest contract in baseball.
A-Rod is not going to shatter the records now, but he will at some point.
Yes, the Yankees would love to see the A-Rod of old instead of an old A-Rod, but with the injuries he has suffered and time ticking against him, chances are we will not see him hit 30 homeruns and drive in 130 RBI.
The 14-time All Star opted out of his old contract in 2007, which he had signed under the Texas Rangers. He signed a new 10-year deal with the Yankees that offseason. At the time he was 32.
In July, Rodriguez will turn 37 and he is still missing five more years in his contract, meaning, barring a trade, which is highly almost guaranteed to be unlikely, A-Rod will be 42 one by the time he can no longer wear pinstripes.
The humorous part is that he will be making $40 million combined in his last two seasons.
This might seem ridiculous, but the Yankees are looking at the bigger picture.
Remember how crazy Yankee Stadium was last year as Jeter neared 3,000 hits? Well, A-Rod is due up and by next season should break into 3,000. He has 2,837 hits so far in his career and stands only 163 hits away from 3,000.
The next record he approaches is runs batted in. He has 1,922 RBI in his career, standing in an 8th place tie with Jimmy Fox.
The legend, Hank Aaron, holds that record with 2,297. That milestone might be about four seasons away as A-Rod would need 375 RBI to tie Hammering Hank and 376 to pass him.
Barry Bonds would be the next all-time victim in A-Rod's list. Rodriguez has 639 total homers in his career, 10 so far this season. He would need 133 to tie and 134 to become the leader as Bonds finished with 762.
To break that record A-Rod would have to average almost 27 homeruns in the next five seasons with the Yankees. He is only pace to reach that total, but the question is, can he do it at ages 39-41?
Fans have to be patient with the aging A-Rod and realize that he is in the team to get the Yankees revenue. The New York Yankees play baseball but focus on the business aspect.
They have made questionable investments in the past, but wouldn't you agree that a player that can finish with the most homeruns and RBI should be paid money until he is able to accomplish these feats?
A-Rod's usage of steroids will not stop fans from filing outside of the stadium.
Look at what the Yankees were able to do in Atlanta. They filled up Turner Field with 40,000 plus, a stadium that averages around 30,000 a game.
The stadium has been more packed at the beginning of the two games of the series than when the Braves played Game 162 last season against the Philadelphia Phillies in a must-win situation.
Fans will show up anywhere the Yankees play and if A-Rod has the luxury of shattering records with the Yankees, then the money invested in Rodriguez will be minuscule in comparison to what the organization will make in return.