A-Rod's 3-Run Homer Moves Him Past Ruth, Gehrig On All-Time RBIs List
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Alex Rodriguez pulled off quite a power move on Wednesday.
Rodriguez moved past Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and into third place on the all-time RBIs list, thanks to his three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning against the Kansas City Royals.
A-Rod deposited a pitch from the Royals' Chris Young just over the left-field wall above the Canon ad, giving him 1,995 RBIs, two more than Gehrig.
Runs batted in was not considered an official statistic until 1920, so the order of the all-time list is open to some debate, especially when it comes to Ruth's total. However, Elias Sports Bureau, recognized as the statistician of Major League Baseball, has Ruth at 1,992.
The blast staked the Yankees to a three-run lead on their way to a 4-2 victory and a three-game sweep of the reigning AL champions.
Rodriguez now sits one RBI behind Barry Bonds for second place all-time. The soon-to-be 40-year-old slugger is still well back of leader Hank Aaron, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 2,297.
So far it has been a season of milestones for Rodriguez, his first following a year-long suspension for his role in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. Back on May 7 he hit his 661st home run, moving past Willie Mays and into fourth place on the all-time list.
Rodriguez, who later added a single, is sitting on 2,981 career hits, 30th on the all-time list.