Alex Rodriguez hits his 500th career home run, August 4, 2007.
Aug. 4, 2007
Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez hit a first-inning drive into left field off of Kansas City’s Kyle Davies in this game, becoming the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. The ball landed into the hands of Walter (Sonny) Kowalczyk, a lifelong Yankee fan who emptied his bank account to buy season tickets. Kowalczyk, a graduate student from Trenton, N.J., hasn’t decided what he’s going to do yet with the ball — which could be worth more than $100,000. Rodriguez has said that he would, of course, like it back. Kowalczyk’s brother Brian told the New York Daily News Aug. 6 that “If [Walter] was doing well in life, he would give [the ball] to the Hall of Fame.”