MLB

Pregame chat puts 600 in perspective for A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez pointed from across the room. I was standing near the doorway of the Yankees’ clubhouse with Jack Curry and Mike Kay of YES, when A-Rod asked me where I had been.

“You are my good luck charm,” he said, noting that he had not homered since the last Yankees game I had covered, staying stuck at No. 599.

It was a light moment, but I followed A-Rod to the indoor batting cage, the only reporter who was getting time with Rodriguez before yesterday’s game against the Blue Jays. It was obvious to anyone who had watched recently that Rodriguez was pressing for No. 600. I almost always stay out of such things. Not my business. I am here to cover these events, not be part of them. But I had written a personal story earlier in the day on my blog and figured since it was public anyway that I would share it with A-Rod.

BOX SCORE

A-ROD’S 600 HOME RUNS

A-ROD BY THE NUMBERS

PHOTOS: A-ROD HITS 600

PHOTOS: A-ROD’S MILESTONES

I was hired full-time by United Press International in 1984, just 20, still in college. My first big assignment came in mid-December. Wayne Gretzky was coming to the Meadowlands with 998 points and a chance to become the youngest ever to reach 1,000. I had to work an 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift before I could head to the Port Authority and take a bus to New Jersey.

I was so excited to be doing a story people cared about that I checked the clock at least once a minute. What I didn’t realize was that the senior guy in the office, a fellow named Steve Snider, had been watching me the whole time. I made my break at 3:29 and hadn’t reached the door when I felt a hand on my back.

“What are you up to?” Snider asked. I explained my enthusiasm. Off to see if Gretzky could make history, youngest man to 1,000 points. Steve studied me a second and then said. “He’s already the fastest to 998. The only reason we care about 1,000 is because we have 10 fingers and things that end in zero interest us. Keep it in perspective.”

That totally deflated me that day, but has always helped my judgment from there forward. I finished telling that story and said to Alex, “You already are only one of seven people in the 599-homer club. Six hundred only matters because it ends in zeroes. It isn’t like passing Willie Mays or Babe Ruth.”

He looked at me earnestly and said, repeat that last part. I did and he said, “I love that story. That really helps me” and disappeared to the batting cage.

My intent was to have a personal moment with someone I cover in hopes it would help me write my column. In other words, A-Rod was going to hit his 600th homer if we never spoke again. But, as it turned out, he hit it 90 minutes later, ending a 46-at-bat homer drought and becoming the youngest player to reach 600. After the game, in his press conference, he made several references that he had better peace yesterday realizing 600 was just a number that ended in zeroes. He would look my way as he said that.

Out in the hallway later, in a private moment, he told me, “I really was thinking about that story. It really helped me. I really love that story. It definitely brought me perspective. That it involved Wayne Gretzky, who is a friend, also helped me. I thought about it a lot warming up in the batting cage. It was a great story.”