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The milestone blow came in the third inning of the New York
Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
"The reaction was incredible," Rodriguez told reporters. "I've
said all along the league, the Yankees, the fans -- no one owes
me anything. I'm so grateful to be playing baseball and grateful
to everybody."
Rodriguez, who had tied Mays on 660 last week, now trails only
Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) in
career home runs.
A-Rod's climb to reach baseball's greats has come amidst
controversy and as he rounded the bases the scoreboard made just
a brief acknowledgment of his feat. He was given a short curtain
call by the home New York fans.
The 39-year-old was suspended for the whole of 2014 due to a
doping violation.
Despite the criticism, Rodriguez has had the support of his team
mates.
"I know there's a lot of questions surrounding everything but
661 home runs is still a lot, it’s 650 more than I’ve got, I
think," said Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner.
"I see how hard Alex works every day, how much he loves to
compete and I'm really happy for him."
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford/Amlan Chakraborty)
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