The Baby Bombers made their Bronx debut against the Tigers on Tuesday, but it was Yankees veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton who played the hero.
The former MVP broke a 1-1 tie when he launched a Jose Cisnero slider 451 feet into the left field bleachers. It was the 400th home run of his career.
After the game, NJ.com’s Max Goodman noted that Stanton is now the tenth player to hit home run No. 400 in a Yankees uniform. He now joins truly elite company, which includes Yankees legends Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth.
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That said, a 400th home run is a number wrapped inside a milestone. The accomplishment is nice, but what did those home runs mean in the moment? In Stanton’s case, the Yankees won their fourth straight and are slowly making a push for the last AL Wild Card spot.
But what of the other bats who reached this milestone with the Yankees? What did hitting no. 400 mean for them? For their team? Where does it stand in their overall legacy?
Let’s rev up the DeLorean and have a look:
Babe Ruth, Sept. 2, 1927 at Philadelphia. The old-time Philadelphia Athletics certainly left their mark in baseball history, from Ruth’s contemporary Jimmie Foxx to the great Connie Mack. Foxx only had two of his 534 career home runs at this point and didn’t play in the game, but future Hall of Famer Ty Cobb did for Philly.
As for Ruth and the Yankees, this 12-2 win was a drop in the bucket. It was the famous “Murderers’ Row” season in which the Babe slugged a then-record 60 homers. In this case, his 400th homer was his 44th of the season and a simple solo shot off of lefty Rube Walberg.
Lou Gehrig, July 10, 1936 vs. Cleveland. Next, we have the Yankees’ all-time leader with 493 home runs. Gehrig’s 400th of those was actually part of a two-homer day in the Bronx in which his Yankees rocked Cleveland 18-0. Both homers were two-run shots off of journeyman lefty Lloyd Brown.
Of course, these golden-age Yankees went on to win the World Series. Gehrig made out quite well too, ultimately leading MLB with 49 home runs and his second MVP trophy.
Mickey Mantle, Sept. 10, 1962 at Detroit. The Mick was an absolute force at the plate in his prime and his 400th career home run is no exception. The Yankees were clinging to a first-place lead over the Twins and the Tigers held a 1-0 lead with ace Hank Aguirre on the mound.
That didn’t stop Mantle from swatting a game-tying solo shot to the deepest part of the old Tiger Stadium. The Yankees eventually took the lead with two runs in the ninth and later won their second straight World Series. Mantle also took home his third and final MVP award despite playing in just 123 games.
Reggie Jackson, Aug. 11, 1980 vs. Chicago. Mr. October still had his fair share of highlights in pinstripes despite not being a career Yankee. His 400th home run, on the other hand, happened during arguably his best Bronx season in which he finished second in MVP voting with an AL-best 41 homers.
White Sox lefty served up the milestone home run, breaking a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Adding insult to injury, he also gave up the walk-off shot to the light-hitting Aurelio Rodriguez. It’s easy to forget this Yankees team also won 103 games before the Royals swept them out of the playoffs.
Gary Sheffield, July 27, 2004 at Toronto. Gary Sheffield’s bat speed was the best part of his game and his 400th career home run shows it. His garbage-time solo shot was an absolute missile into the second deck at the then-Skydome.
Sheffield’s milestone homer also capped a Yankees 7-4 comeback win, and was the last righty Micheal Nakamura allowed in his brief MLB career.
Alex Rodriguez, June 8, 2005 at Milwaukee. For all of A-Rod’s faults as a Yankee, this is one of his many great Bronx Bombers highlights. In this case, he was putting together an MVP season despite his Yankees struggling to play .500 ball and sitting fourth in the division.
Something awoke the bats in this game as A-Rod had two home runs, including his 400th off of lefty Jorge de la Rosa. He also had four hits in the game on top of becoming the youngest player to reach 400 home runs in a career.
Alfonso Soriano, Aug. 27, 2013 at Toronto. We follow Alex Rodriguez with the man the Yankees traded to acquire for him. Fans recall Soriano as an exciting young second baseman with 40-40 potential before he was acquired for the three-time MVP. He eventually shifted to the outfield and had some great years with the Cubs before the Yankees traded back for him in 2013.
The then-37-year-old Soriano had quite the homecoming, slugging 17 home runs the rest of the way. Facing lefty J.A. Happ with the fourth-place Yankees still somehow in the race, his 400th homer was actually his second of the game. It gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead in an eventual 7-1 win.
Carlos Beltran, May 15, 2016 vs. Chicago. The Yankees were in last place on this day and just needed Carlos Beltran making history to win. The veteran switch-hitter and likely future Hall of Famer lined a no-doubter to left off of Zach Duke to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning.
Beltran also added a sac fly in a game that featured six total lead changes.
Mark Teixeira, July 3, 2016 at San Diego. Tex was in the last year of his contract at this point and, to be blunt, worse than a shell of himself. In fact, he’d announce his impending retirement a month later. Entering this game, the former All-Star was batting .185 with just five homers on the year.
Somehow, Teixeira turned back the clock for his middling Yankees on this day. He hit two home runs, the first of which was his 400th and an eighth-inning solo shot off of Carlos Villanueva. More impressive is the aging Teixeira wrapped it around the foul pole in cavernous Petco Park. An inning later, he hit a two-run shot off of Kevin Quackenbush.
This didn’t spark Teixeira much for the rest of the season, nor the Yankees. However, he at least managed to finish the year above the Mendoza Line at .204.
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