For a designated hitter who is soon to be 40, going more than a week without a home run is nothing to be alarmed about. But for Alex Rodriguez, who, entering Sunday’s game, was two shy of tying Willie Mays at 660 homers for fourth on the career list, it followed a familiar pattern.
When Rodriguez nears a home run milestone, he does not sprint past it.
As Rodriguez was approaching his 500th home run in 2007, it took him 10 days to reach the mark after he hit his 499th. That was in a season in which Rodriguez hit 54 homers and won his third American League Most Valuable Player Award.