NEW YORK — Three months, $3.5 million and 75 games later, the New York Yankees celebrated Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit in a brief and subdued pregame ceremony before a relatively sparse Yankee Stadium crowd.
Rodriguez hit a solo homer off Detroit’s Justin Verlander on June 19 to reach 3,000, joining Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter as the only players to reach the mark with a home run.
The team reached an agreement with Rodriguez on July 3 to make $3.5 million in charitable contributions, settling a dispute over a $6 million marketing payment contemplated for his 660th home run. The sides had an acrimonious relationship in 2013 and 2014 during baseball’s Biogenesis drug investigation, which led to a one-season suspension of A-Rod.
The ceremony lacked much of the pomp of the ones this year honouring Bernie Williams, Willie Randolph and Met Stottlemyre, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte. Following a brief introduction over the stadium’s public address system, Rodriguez received a commemorative crystal from Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lon Trost and jewelry for himself and his daughters from owner Hal Steinbrenner. A special logo celebrating the achievement was displayed on the video board.
His mother, brother, sister and his two daughters, joined Rodriguez on the field for the seven-minute ceremony. Rodriguez did not speak.
