A-Rod sending 2,000th-RBI bat to Cooperstown
Lumber used for Saturday's homer to become part of 'Today's Game' exhibit
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez is shipping some lumber to Cooperstown.
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The Yankees slugger has donated the bat he used to collect his 2,000th RBI to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, where it will be displayed in the "Today's Game" exhibit.
Rodriguez achieved the milestone on Saturday in Baltimore, hitting a two-run home run off the Orioles' Bud Norris for his 2,000th and 2,001st career RBIs.
"The Baseball Hall of Fame is the definitive repository for the game's history," said Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "As records, achievements and compelling stories unfold on the field, we recount them in Cooperstown through the generosity of players, teams and fans who generously donate artifacts associated with those milestones to the Museum. We extend our gratitude to Alex for donating the bat he used to record his 2,000th RBI to the Museum."
Henry Aaron is first on baseball's all-time RBI list with 2,297, according to Elias, the official statistician of Major League Baseball. Because RBIs became an official Major League statistic in 1920, Elias' tally begins at that date.
Due to the uncertain nature of record-keeping in the early part of the 20th century, some discrepancies may exist between the stats provided today by different historical data providers.
MLB.com utilizes different statistics than Elias. By MLB.com's count, Rodriguez is third on the all-time RBI list behind Aaron (2,297) and Ruth (2,213). MLB.com takes into account RBIs accumulated by Ruth before 1920.
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"It's just nice to be mentioned with some of the greats, in this case the great Hank Aaron," Rodriguez said. "RBI is a funny thing; it's such a collaborative statistic, and it reminds me of when I was in Seattle back when I was in my early 20s, some of the great teammates and friends I've had over the years. A very unique statistic."
The Hall of Fame's collection contains several artifacts from Rodriguez's 21-year big league career, including a bat from his 2002 season with the Rangers, his helmet from his 500th career home run in 2007, the spikes he wore in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series, a road jersey worn during the 2009 season, his spikes from his 600th career home run in 2010 and a home jersey on loan from Rodriguez from his 500th career double.