Where Does A-Rod Go From Here?
Where does he go from here?
I guess that's the real question now that A-Rod has (finally) reached 600 home runs. There was a time we thought there was no limit, that 700 was a certainty and 800 was probable, and anything beyond that wasn't out of the question.
But now we see a guy who regularly hit 40 and 50 home runs in a season, and see that he has 17 in almost 400 at-bats. The game has changed, and so has Alex Rodriguez. There used to be little argument he was the best player in the game. But is he still?
A-Rod is still a dangerous hitter. But there's a difference between being a great player based on historic accomplishments and being a great player based on current accomplishments. He's still driving in runs, near the league lead. But we're back in a time when 35 years of age equals 35 years of age.
There's a chance the burden of this milestone is lifted and A-Rod will transform again into the home run hitter that got this far in the first place. In 2007, after chasing 500 for a week and a half, A-Rod went on a tear and hit 18 home runs in the final 49 games. But like I said, we know a lot more now than we did then and 35 is 35.
If A-Rod has begun the slow decline, then 700 will take more than three years (that's how long—to the day—that it took A-Rod to go from 500 to 600). And then he'll be 38. He could still get to 700, 714, 755, 762, and whatever you imagine comes after that. Because of what we know, it won't be the unquestioned "clean home run record." But it will still be an accomplishment, one that even if it's not celebrated will be recognized.
The only problem is…are we really sure he's going to get there? Is he? We'll all find out together, and the last 56 games of this regular season might clue us in a little more.
Sweeny Murti
Yankees@wfan.com
www.twitter.com/YankeesWFAN
