This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.

Alex Rodriguez to be Honored on September 13th

The New York Yankees are finally ready to save face and honor their DH Alex Rodriguez for hitting his 3,000^th hit in his Major League career. The Yankees will honor Rodriguez in a special pre-game ceremony on September 13^th before the team plays host to the Toronto Blue Jays. Alex hit his 3,000^th hit at Yankee Stadium on a home run off the Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander that was ultimately caught and held ransom by Zack Hample.

Whether the Yankees are trying to save face or if they are simply looking to benefit from another presumed sellout at Yankee Stadium remains to be seen but in the end it doesn’t matter. Alex will be honored the way he should be and the fans, whether they stuck with him or not throughout the whole steroid suspension and Biogenesis fallout, will be able to cheer on the Yankees legend. Kudos to Hal Steinbrenner and the entire Yankees organization on this one, you get two thumbs up from this guy. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.

The Greedy Pinstripes Reach 1,000,000

We’ve done it ladies and gentleman, The Greedy Pinstripes has reached the milestone that is 1,000,000 views on the blog all-time. We may not have done it the prettiest way possible or the quickest way possible but we did it nonetheless. I mean it when I say “we” because it’s not just me, or Bryan Van Dusen, or Bryan Knepper, or Jack Niemuth or Ben Embry or any of the highly talented writers that have or currently write for the blog because none of this would be possible without you, the readers.

From patrick (always with a little p) to Ken Reed. From Mr. Hans to Jeff Levin. From all 3,100+ Twitter followers (shameless plug @GreedyStripes), to the people who bookmark the site and read us daily to the people who just happened to stumble upon us, WE did it. 1,000,000.

From our very first post, What do you resolve to do in 2012?, to our most popular post, Andy Pettitte tells the Andy Pettitte Story, to a post that I couldn’t have gotten people to read if it came with a $20 incentive, Countdown to Pitchers and Catchers which had a total of TWO views, we did it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. This is OUR day, let them have cake. And Starbucks, I really like Starbucks. Enjoy and thank you!

More Alex Rodriguez Milestones on Deck

Alex Rodriguez has surpassed many milestones this season, marketable for the New York Yankees or not, including tying and passing the likes of Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds in home runs and RBI all-time. That's an awesome career for any player, especially all in one season, but Rodriguez is quietly sneaking up on another handful of milestones that he could potentially surpass this season as well.

Rodriguez is a mere 13 hits away from the historic 3000 hit plateau and with the 2,987 hits he would become just the 29th player in Major League History to achieve the historic milestone. Only three players in major league history have surpassed 3,000 hits and are not yet in the Hall of Fame, Pete Rose, who is ineligible, Rafael Palmeiro, who admitted steroids use, and Derek Jeter, who is a shoe-in for induction. Rodriguez will likely join Rose and Palmeiro in not making Cooperstown despite the milestone.

Rodriguez is also just 35 home runs away from becoming the fourth player in Major League history to reach the 700 home run plateau. Rodriguez isn't likely to reach that mark in 2015 but after this season there is little reason to believe why he cannot, health and playing time dependent of course, achieve that in 2016.

Alex is just 5.0 WAR away from tying Red Sox legend Ted Williams in WAR all-time as he currently sits at 117.1 WAR while Williams has 123.1 WAR in their respected careers.

Rodriguez is one good season away from joining the Top Three of all-time in RBI as A-Rod currently sits at 1996 RBI in his career just 79 behind Cap Anson.

Update: 2015 Alex Rodriguez Milestones

On April 1st we posted the potential milestones that Alex Rodriguez could reach this season if he remains effective and healthy and a little over a month later we have an update for everyone. Obviously the home run that tied Willie Mays forced the issue of this post but Alex is within striking distance of a few other big names in Major League history including the stats that were included in THIS original post:

Alex Rodriguez despite missing the better part of the last two seasons is still within striking distance of more than a few milestones in 2015. We all have heard the dead horse being beaten about if and when Rodriguez hits his sixth home run of the season to tie Willie Mays on the all-time home run list because of the $6 million bonus the team reportedly plans on fighting but there are quite a few more that the soon to be 40 year old may reach this season.

Check!

Rodriguez is just 61 hits away from the historic 3000 hit plateau while also sitting 6^th all-time in RBI with 1969 RBI. Alex is a mere 61 home runs away from tying Babe Ruth on the home run list and just 26 RBI behind the great Yankees legend Lou Gehrig in RBI. Rodriguez may also pass Barry Bonds (1996 RBI) on the RBI list to take sole possession of third place all-time. Rodriguez sits just 245 RBI behind Ruth for 2^nd place all-time and with a healthy next three seasons could conceivably push for that record, although it looks less and less likely.

44 hits away from 3000 hits. 12 RBI behind Lou Gehrig. 55 home runs behind Babe Ruth.

Pass Bonds on the all-time RBI list, Check!

Alex also sits 10^th all-time in runs scored with 1919 runs. Even with a diminished Yankees offense I believe Rodriguez could at least pass Derek Jeter (1923) and Stan Musial (1949) on the list with an outside chance of passing Cap Anson (1999) for 8^th all-time with less than 100 runs scored.

Pass Jeter on the all-time runs list, Check!

Are They or Aren’t They Marketable Milestones?

Keeping in mind that I am far from a lawyer and sometimes guilty of living in an oversimplified black and white world when the world we live in is anything but that you have to wonder if Alex Rodriguez has any chance of winning this impending fight with the New York Yankees over his $6 million marketing milestone bonus for tying Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. If I understand this correctly, and I believe I do because I researched this for hours over the past few weeks, the contract that Rodriguez signed with these $6 million bonuses for tying Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds and eventually passing Bonds was a separate contract from his player contract, it was a marketing contract, and you have to wonder if the Yankees don’t have a point about the lack of marketability surrounding Rodriguez.

Again, from what I understand the Yankees were going to pay Alex for the rights to the videos and images of his historic home run which was evidently clearly expressed in the terms of the contract. Again, being pretty black and white, you would think this is a pretty cut and dry case. If the Yankees don’t want to own or use the videos and images when the home run occurs then why would they want to pay for them? If this was written into his MLB mandated guaranteed player contract that would be another story but you cannot write in milestones and accomplishments like that into your player contract according to the collective bargaining agreement. Alex can sue and the Players Union can get involved, and this will get ugly once again before it gets resolved, but I can’t see Mr. Rodriguez getting this one out of the Yankees unfortunately.

ESPN made an interesting point on Sunday night when they were talking about it and it makes you wonder if the Yankees and Alex would be willing to meet in the middle somewhere and avoid another black eye to the organization. No one comes out the good guy if the Yankees refuse to pay Rodriguez and Rodriguez files a grievance but there is one way for everyone to come out on top here. Donate the $6 million to a charity and let the marketability of Rodriguez feed the children of New York City or something like that. Doesn’t that seem like something maybe a certain someone, *cough* Derek Jeter *cough*, would do?

I don’t pretend to know Rodriguez’s financial situation and he may very well need the money but honestly he should have thought about that before doing steroids the second time. I’m the biggest A Rod fan you will meet but I don’t let that blind me to the facts and blind me to what is right and wrong. Rodriguez screwed up and he paid his time and the Yankees don’t see him as marketable to the general media anymore, and if you have listened to any of his at bats on the road this season you would know that they are correct. Rodriguez can take his losses and gain something from it by avoiding lighting the Bronx on fire once again and maybe wins back a few fans in the process. It’s probably not worth $6 million to him but in the end it could mean so much more so do the right thing A Rod and show the world your human side once again. 

Same Old Recycled Alex Rodriguez News

Bill Madden of the New York Post is recycling the same old news regarding Alex Rodriguez and his $6 million bonus for home runs again. This presumably came about after Alex hit his first home run of the season this week moving within just five home runs of tying Willie Mays on the all-time home run list and moves just five home runs away from a $6 million bonus that the New York Yankees don't want to pay him.

Alex hit his 655th home run of his career in the game three loss to the Blue Jays making you wonder if we're going to see one of these posts by Madden and crew with every home run he hits this season. New York is prepared to go to an arbitrator rather than simply pay the deal since the Yankees no longer think this is a milestone.

According to Madden's sources the deal was signed separately from his mega-deal and it is up to the Yankees discretion whether to call his home runs milestones or not. New York considers the home runs tainted and not milestones meaning once again this is going to get ugly between the Yankees and Mr. Rodriguez. That I have no issue with, the fact that responsible journalists are running with this like it's new news is my issue. Must be a slow day and you guys must be out of ideas.

Potential Alex Rodriguez Milestones in 2015

Alex Rodriguez despite missing the better part of the last two seasons is still within striking distance of more than a few milestones in 2015. We all have heard the dead horse being beaten about if and when Rodriguez hits his sixth home run of the season to tie Willie Mays on the all-time home run list because of the $6 million bonus the team reportedly plans on fighting but there are quite a few more that the soon to be 40 year old may reach this season.

Rodriguez is just 61 hits away from the historic 3000 hit plateau while also sitting 6^th all-time in RBI with 1969 RBI. Alex is a mere 61 home runs away from tying Babe Ruth on the home run list and just 26 RBI behind the great Yankees legend Lou Gehrig in RBI. Rodriguez may also pass Barry Bonds (1996 RBI) on the RBI list to take sole possession of third place all-time. Rodriguez sits just 245 RBI behind Ruth for 2^nd place all-time and with a healthy next three seasons could conceivably push for that record, although it looks less and less likely.

Alex also sits 10^th all-time in runs scored with 1919 runs. Even with a diminished Yankees offense I believe Rodriguez could at least pass Derek Jeter (1923) and Stan Musial (1949) on the list with an outside chance of passing Cap Anson (1999) for 8^th all-time with less than 100 runs scored.

Alex Rodriguez May Bring Fans to the Yard in 2015

The last two seasons New York has benefited, financially speaking and attendance wise, from the retirements and farewell tours of greats like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. With these two gone and no farewell tour in sight for 2015 many fans and personnel are wondering who will sell MLB tickets and who can bring the fans back to Yankee Stadium. Could it be Alex Rodriguez?

According to the stats used by Baseball Reference.com Rodriguez sits just 61 hits shy of the 3,000 hit milestone and would become only the second player in a Yankees uniform to accomplish the feat, the first of course being Mr. DJ3K. A Rod also sits just 60 home runs away from 714 with some guy named Willie Mays within striking distance in the all-time home run chase. Finally Rodriguez needs just 328 RBI to be #1 all-time in the statistic. According to Fangraphs.com Rodriguez has compiled a career WAR of 111.0.

Love Alex or hate Alex you can sort of see why the team is willing to bring him back and not eat the remaining $61 million and three years on his contract. New York has morphed into the business it always could be and less of the hobby and Rodriguez makes too many dollars and too much sense to let him walk away without selling some Yankees tickets first. 

As we all know Alex was subject to a 162 game suspension in 2014 due to his involvement in steroid use and the now defunct Biogenesis clinic down in Miami run by Anthony Bosch. This marks the second time Alex was linked to a large scale steroid probe and Alex didn't buy any fans by suing the league, the Yankees and anything that wasn't tied down. Now Alex will look to mend fences, if that's possible, and get back his fans trust and love, again even if it's possible, and the only way he can do that is production. If Alex comes out and hits 20 home runs and knocks in 70 RBI in 2015 I think a lot of the fans give him a break. If not, and if he can't put the butts in the seats at Yankee Stadium, then I think we may see the last of Mr. Alex Emmanuel Rodriguez, in a Yankees uniform at least. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.

Potential 2014 Milestones For Everyone Else

This week we have looked at potential milestones for the likes of Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano, and Carlos Beltran and what could have been for Alex Rodriguez. Today we look at everyone else on the Yankees roster who may have a potential milestone they are creeping up on in 2014, take a look.

Hiroki Kuroda could reach 1,000 career strike outs in his Major League career if he reaches 160 K's in 2014, a number he has surpassed twice and come close to two more times in his six year MLB career.

As much as it pains me to say Ichiro Suzuki will not be reaching 3,000 hits in a Major League stadium, not with the Yankees anyway. He has one more season left on his contract and sits at 2,742 hits in his Major League career. Now reduced to being a part time player it would be possible for Ichiro to not even reach 2,800 hits but we will always have that 4,000 hit celebration to remember him by.

Did you know that there are zero active players in the Top 100 in triples all times, and only three players in the Top 150? It's true. The first Yankee to make the list is Ichiro Suzuki with 83 three baggers, good for 253rd on the All Time list.

Brett Gardner has 39 stolen base speed and if he got those 39 steals in 2014 he would finish with an even 200 for his career.

With Jamie Moyer and Andy Pettitte out of the game the active wins leader among pitchers is Tim Hudson followed by the Yankees CC Sabathia for a tie for 99th and 100th respectively. If Sabathia won 15 games he could jump to a tie for 72nd place. If he won more games then Hudson then he could become the all time winning-est active pitcher in MLB.

What Could Have Been w/ Alex Rodriguez In 2014

Oh what could have been with Alex Rodriguez had he not been an idiot and take steroids again, or at least get caught doing it. This would, well could have been, a season full of milestones for Alex on his way to the Hall of Fame had he not taken the roids. Oh well, here's the list of what could have been if we had Alex Rodriguez healthy all season long for us down at third base in 2014.

Alex was sitting on 2,939 hits when his 2013 season ended and could have easily gotten his 3,000th hit by the All Star Game in 2014. 100 hits for Alex would have improved his all time ranking from #32 to as high as 23rd all time passing Lou Brock, Rafael Palmeiro, Wade Boggs, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente, and Frank Robinson to name a few.

Alex came into the 2014 ninth on the all time runs list with 1,919 runs scored. With another 100 runs scored in 2014, which would probably be generous but I am willing to be generous with a revamped offense in New York, Alex would finish somewhere around the 2,020 plateau in runs. 2,020 runs would put him eight on the list passing Stan Musial on the list and within striking distance of Willie Mays for seventh.

81 runs gets him to 2,000 runs scored in his career.

Alex is currently fifth on the all time list in RBI's with 1,969 for his career as of the end of the 2013 season. Give Alex 80 RBI's for the 2014 season and he would have 2,049 runs batted in for his career. An extra 80 RBI's is good for  third on the all time list passing home run king Barry Bonds and Lou Gehrig.

31 RBI's obviously gets him to 2,000 in his career.

Alex is currently 47th on the all time doubles list with 519 for his career. Alex is slowing down so adding 20 to that, which granted may be generous but we are banking on full and healthy 2014 seasons, would sit him at the 32nd spot and 539 doubles. 539 doubles passes the likes of Johnny Damon, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr, Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, and Lou Gehrig.

We all know about Alex's chase of the All Time home run list, a list that he currently sits fifth at with 654 home runs in his career. Alex would probably be good for 20 home runs if healthy in 2014 which would net him a career 674 home runs, a fourth place slot on the list, and a cool $6 million in salary for passing Willie Mays on the all time list.

Alex is sixth all time in extra base hits with 1,203 extra base hits in his career. Unless Alex went crazy and collected the 120 extra base hits in 2014 needed to catch Willie Mays for fifth all time I think that spot would be safe.

If Alex could have played in 82 games for the Yankees he would have passed Robinson Cano on the All Time Yankees list, which is always nice after he bolted for Seattle.

Alex Rodriguez is second on the active all time list in games played trailing only teammate Derek Jeter. Somewhere around 140 games this season would put him at an even 2700 games played for his career and allow him to jump from 46th all time to a tie at #28 with Graig Nettles.

Alex has a career .299 batting average that, with a good season, could see him ending his career with a  career .300 batting average which is always nice.

It's too bad Alex will not play this season and would not play without the suspicion of being clean or not because this would be a season to watch for all Yankees fans, especially Alex Rodriguez fans.

Potential 2014 Milestones For Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter has averaged 100 runs or so a season in every year that he has been healthy and currently sits in 12th place on the All Time list for runs with 1876 runs scored in his career. If Jeter scores another 100 runs this season that would be good enough for 8th on the all time list passing the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Tris Speaker, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, and Willie Mays.

If Derek scored those same 100 runs in 2014 he would become the Yankees All Time leader in runs scored passing Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

124 runs also gives him 2,000 for his career.

Derek Jeter's hit parade basically took a season off in 2013 leaving him with 3,316 hits and a ninth place ranking on the list. Jeter will probably not be good for 200 hits this season like he was in 2012 but using what I consider to be a modest 150 hit projection we can see that Jeter would be among some big names. 150 hits makes Jeter have 3,466 for his career and sixth on the all time list. Jeter would pass Honus Wagner, Carl Yastrzemski, and Paul Molitor.

Derek Jeter heads into 2014 ranked 38th on the all time doubles list with 525 doubles. Jeter has an average of 33 doubles per season for his career so adding 30 doubles to make an even 555 doubles for his career moves him up to 25th all time. Jeter would pass the likes of Chipper Jones, Frank Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Al Simmons, Dave Winfield, Rogers Hornsby, Tony Gwynn, and Manny Ramirez.

Derek Jeter is nine doubles behind Lou Gehrig's 534 doubles for the most on the Yankees All Time list.

Derek Jeter is the active leader in games played and ranks #37 on the all time list. Another 100 games this season or more and he will jump another 10 slots or so on the list.

Potential 2014 Milestones For Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran can crack the Top 100 on the all time list for runs this season if he scores 100 times as he currently sits in the 106th spot with 1,346 runs. Getting to the 1,446 rank would get him all the way to a tie for 77th on the all time list passing the likes of Roberto Clemente, Bernie Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Tony Gwynn, Andre Dawson, Brett Butler, and Fred McGriff to name a few.

Carlos Beltran can also crack the Top 100 on the all time list for doubles as he currently sits ranked 103rd with 446 doubles. Beltran has averaged 35 doubles in his career over a 162 game average so 30 doubles in 2014 would put him at 476 doubles and well within the Top 100. It would in fact make him 79th passing Joe Morgan, Bernie Williams, Jim Thome, Paul O'Neill, Jimmie Foxx, Reggie Jackson, Gary Sheffield, and Larry Walker.

There's no way Beltran could hit 42 home runs this season in Yankee Stadium is there? Well if he did that would be an even 400 home runs for his career.

Potential 2014 Milestones For Alfonso Soriano

Alfonso Soriano currently ranks 51st on the All Time home run list with 406 home runs, just one behind Duke Snider for Top 50 all time. If Soriano hit 30 home runs this season, which is very much possible, he would jump all the way to 42nd place on the list passing the likes of Bernie Williams, Cal Ripken Jr, Mike Piazza, Paul Konerko and Andruw Jones.

If Alfonso can stay in 92 games in 2014 he would reach the 2,000 game mark for his career.

12 stolen bases for Soriano gives him 300 stolen bags for his career.

2013 Predictions : Derek Jeter Potential Milestones

Derek Jeter has been on an all out assault on the all time hits list and 2013 looks to be no different then 2012 was. As long as Derek Jeter fully heals from this ankle injury that ended his season prematurely in 2012 and continues to defy age, logic, and mother nature I think we will see Derek Sanderson Jeter rewriting history more then a couple times this season. Let us take a closer look:

• Derek Jeter is a mere 11 hits behind 9th place Eddie Collins on the all time hits list. Jeter is also a meager 15 hits behind Paul Molitor for 8th place on the all time list. Jeter is 115 hits behind Carl Yastrzemski for 7th place on the all time list for hits. Honus Wagner is only 116 hits in front of Jeter for 6th place all time on the hits list. Tris Speaker is only 210 hits ahead of Derek Jeter for 5th place on the all time list. All of these men are within striking distance of the captain in 2013. We do not use Cap Anson's 3435 hit total as a correct total because walks used to be counted as hits back in the early 1900's. 

•  Derek Jeter is 17th on the all time list for hit by pitches with 163 in his career. I am not sure if this is really supposed to be a good thing or not but Derek stand 2 HBP's behind Kid Elberfield for 16th place and 4 HBP's behind Alex Rodriguez for  15th place. Hopefully this is one milestone that Derek does NOT reach.

• Derek Jeter sits 40th on the all time list in games played with 2585 games played. I know this may be a tall task but if Jeter plays 150 games he will jump all the way to the 26th spot with 2735 games played passing notable players like Willie McCovey (39th), Lou Brock (35th), Paul Molitor (30th), and George Brett (27th). 

2013 Predictions : Alex Rodriguez Potential Milestones

2013 could be a real special season for a couple Yankees but none more then Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. Maybe for just a few nights we can all forget about the 5 years and $114 million left on his contract with the Yankees through his age 42 season. Let us take a closer look at how many entries Alex Rodriguez may be making in the history books in 2013, even with his second hip surgery in the last five seasons. The point of this post may all be moot if he misses the entire 2013 season or never comes back at all but I am willing to be optimistic here so here goes:

• Alex Rodriguez will enter 2013 with 647 home runs which is only 13 home runs away from tying Willie Mays for 4th on the all time list. Even with a semi healthy season Alex should have no problem passing Willie Mays in 2013. Even if he misses half of the season with the surgery he may still have a shot at it, see 2009. He enters 67 home runs away from Babe Ruth for 3rd all time just as an FYI.

• Alex Rodriguez has quietly crept up on the 3000 hit plateau entering 2013 with 2901 hits, only 99 away from the milestone. Somewhere after the All Star break we will see Alex get his this historic hit. My prediction will be August 8th at home against the Detroit Tigers barring any kind of setbacks or additional injuries. 

• Alex sits in 6th place all time in RBIs with 1950. That is 1 behind Stan Musial for the 5th spot, 45 behind Lou Gehrig for the 4th spot, and 46 behind Barry Bonds for 3rd all time. These are all within reach in 2013 barring a catastrophic injury. He still sits 263 RBIs behind Babe Ruth for 2nd all time.

• Alex sits 10th all time on the runs scored list with 1898 runs scored in his career. He has averaged 100 runs scored over the past 5-6 seasons so if we make it an even 2000 runs scored after this season that would place him at 8th on the all time list. Stan Musial and Cap Anson would each take a step back on the list while Alex passes them.