Alex Rodriguez becomes second player to reach 2,000 RBIs, joins Hank Aaron

BALTIMORE -- Alex Rodriguez joined Hank Aaron in an exclusive club -- the only two players in baseball history to have officially driven in more than 2,000 runs -- with a two-run home run in the sixth inning of Saturday night's game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.

The home run, No. 666 of Rodriguez's career, came on a 1-2 pitch from Bud Norris and sailed over the right-center field fence with Chase Headley on base to tie the game at 4-4.

More importantly, it gave Rodriguez 2,001 RBIs, 296 behind Aaron's record. The RBI totals of Babe Ruth (2,214) and Cap Anson (2,075) are not officially recognized by Major League Baseball because they contain RBIs collected prior to 1920, when the stat was first officially recorded.

"It's just nice to be mentioned with some of the greats, in this case the great Hank Aaron," Rodriguez said following the Yankees' 9-4 loss. "The RBI statistic is such an interesting thing because it's such a collaborative effort from all my teammates that I've played with over the last 20 years. It reminds me of some of the great players and friends that I've collected over the years.

"It's a little bit of a toast to all of them."

The home run was also the 2,995th hit of Rodriguez's career. When he reaches 3,000, he will become only the third player in baseball history -- along with Aaron and Willie Mays -- to have reached that milestone while hitting more than 600 home runs.

"You want to do these things and help the team win," Rodriguez said after New York's loss moved Baltimore within two games of the AL East lead. "I won't be able to appreciate these things until years after I'm done playing anyway."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.