A-Rod youngest to 500 home runs

Aug 4, 2007, 17:40 GMT

Bronx, NY - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to reach the 500-home run plateau, belting a three- run home run in the first inning of Saturday's 16-8 win against Kansas City.

Rodriguez, who turned 32 on July 27, surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500 career home runs.

Rodriguez smacked the first pitch he saw from Kyle Davies over the left-field wall for his 36th home run of the season and became the 22nd player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run mark. He had gone 28 at-bats since his last home run, which occurred on July 25 against the Royals.

He is the second player to notch home run No. 500 this season, joining Toronto Blue Jays slugger Frank Thomas, who reached the mark on June 28.

Rodriguez is the third player to reach 500 home runs in Yankee pinstripes, joining Hall of Famer's Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth.

It took Rodriguez 1,855 games to reach 500 home runs, which is the third fastest in MLB history. Mark McGwire did it in 1,639 games while it took Ruth 1,740 games.

Also, Rodriguez finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored and became the first player in MLB history to have at least 35 home runs, 100 runs scored and 100 RBI in 10 straight seasons.

© 2007 The Sports Network