Alex Rodriguez Chasing Records Too

By EJ Fagan On June 1, 2011 · 6 Comments · In History

While Derek Jeter has been slowly marching to his historic milestone, we’ve been distracted from a much more significant march toward the history books: Alex Rodriguez is working his way toward some really big records. Alex has six seasons left on his mammoth contract, plus the remainder of the 2011 season. Here’s a quick table:

The bottom row assumes that Alex Rodriguez plays 7 seasons of baseball, including 2011, to finish out his contract, but no more. Of course, its conceivable that alternate scenarios play out – he gets injured, retires early, gets hit by a bus, decides to play another year to reach the big records, etc. But if he plays until his contract is up, the per season numbers represent what he would have to average over that time period to break the record.

The home run and RBIs records are in the most danger. Despite consistent injuries and poor play, Alex has averaged 109 RBIs over the past three years, and is on track for something close to another 100 RBI season despite a fairly disappointing start. He really wouldn’t have to be very good to hit 2297 RBIs, breaking Hank Aaron’s long-standing record. Home runs are a little more difficult – he would need to average 20 home runs over a pretty long period of time. However, the Babe’s 714 should be easily within his reach – he’ll need just 13 per season, and Bonds’ record certainly isn’t out of reach.

He’d need quite a revival to get to Ricky Henderson’s 2295 runs to scored. Alex has seen his runs scored drop in recent injury-prone seasons to 78 and 74 while injured, and would need to prevent any further decline, or serious missed time, in the future. One or two revived 100-run seasons over that period could put him close.

Hits and total bases, on the other hand, are clearly out of reach. Still, Arod could match, say, Cal Ripken’s 3184 hits with just 65 per season. Honus Wagner is an attractive target at 3420, or exactly 100 per season. His best case scenario might involve catching Hank Aaron himself at 3771, or 149 per season. I’m sure we’ll also be watching Alex in context of competition with Derek Jeter, who should finish somewhere between Wagner and Ripken, but could conceivably go even higher. Total bases isn’t an impossible record for Alex to reach, but he would need one or two monster years to boost his numbers into his 30s. #2 is much more reachable (Stan Musial at 6134), requiring just 143 per season.

After we enjoy Derek Jeter making history, we’ve got a lot more history to watch being made. Alex Rodriguez is going into the Hall of Fame in a Yankee uniform, and he’s going to have to send a lot of bats and baseballs over to the museum over the next few years. He’s on his way toward breaking more than just Hall of Fame milestones: he could hold 2 or 3 of the biggest records in baseball history before he retires.

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6 Responses to Alex Rodriguez Chasing Records Too

  1. HyShai says:
    June 1, 2011 at 1:13 pm

    “Alex Rodriguez is going into the Hall of Fame”….We hope :)

    [Reply]

  2. bornwithpinstripes says:
    June 1, 2011 at 1:22 pm

    if he does he may have to take a couple of rejections as punishment.he is not first round..mariano should be voted in the day he retires. jeter is first time around..tex has a great shot 500 plus homers 1800 rbi he gets to 1000 plus this year and 300 plus homers.

    [Reply]

    Tom Swift Reply:
    June 1st, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    Unless more stuff comes out, I predict he will go in on the first ballot. Indignation about his use of banned substances is fading even now, and in 12 years, if he gets some of these records, it will have completely faded. And he is definitely going into the Hall as a Yankee. I hope he plays a Reggie Jackson role after he retires.

    [Reply]

    EJ Fagan Reply:
    June 1st, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Yeah, I feel like the voters will have all the moral outrage of their system by the time Arod comes up. That’s not for another ten years. Holding up Bonds and Clemens should be sufficient to exorcise all those bad demons.

    Though if Arod goes off and breaks a ton of records, including the home run record, then who knows, maybe there will be a renewed crusade.

    [Reply]

  3. Ben Vinutti says:
    June 1, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    I hope you are right that ARod goes into the Hall, but I have my doubts that he will in light of the PED scandal. I think the Hall of Fame should build a wing devoted to the “steroid era” and include all of the greats who are confirmed or very highly suspected of having used PED’s during the 80′s and 90′s – so that their amazing feats aren’t forgotten or missed by future baseball fans – rather than asterisking individual players.

    Regardless, ARod is both frustrating and a lot of fun to watch – his power comes so easy, I have never seen someone hit what appears to be a foul or shallow pop up that goes out of the yard so often as him. I will enjoy watching him, assuming he stays healthy, so long as he does not become the albatross that Jeter and Posada have become.

    [Reply]

  4. Duh, Innings! says:
    June 1, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    Oh, he’s not a first ballot HOF cuz he cheated 2001-03, right? Gimme a break.

    Let’s say he hits 11 more HR this year, 120 the next six, and tacks one on for good measure for a final tally of 763 HR and the all-time homerun record by a homer.

    Even if you took away 21 homeruns a year 2001-03 for 63 HR total, he’d still finish with 700 HR.

    First Ballot Hall Of Famer.

    [Reply]

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