2007 Alex Rodriguez Signed 500th Home Run Baseball....

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A-Rod becomes the youngest member of the illustrious Club!

2007 Alex Rodriguez Signed 500th Home Run Baseball. On August 4, 2007, Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to reach 500 home runs, achieving the milestone at 32 years and 8 days old. He accomplished this feat with a three-run homer off Kansas City Royals pitcher Kyle Davies in the first inning at Yankee Stadium, ending an eight-day, 28 at-bat homerless streak. The ball landed in the left-field stands and was caught by Walter "Sonny" Kowalczyk, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound graduate student from Trenton, New Jersey, and a lifelong Yankees fan.

Kowalczyk had emptied his bank account to purchase season tickets and was in the right place at the right time to secure the historic ball. After catching it, he protected the ball from a crowd of fans and was escorted by stadium security to a suite to watch the remainder of the game. Rodriguez expressed interest in retrieving the ball, stating, "I really want it back," but also acknowledged Kowalczyk's right to keep it, saying, "If not, I congratulate him for catching it. Nice catch."

Rodriguez's 500th home run was a highlight in a season where he led the American League in home runs (54), RBIs (156), slugging percentage (.645), OPS (1.067), and total bases (376), culminating in his third AL MVP award. This achievement further solidified his status as one of the premier power hitters in baseball history.

Major League Baseball's desire to assure that all major milestone baseballs are verifiable resulted some years ago in the utilization of a practice of marking baseballs pitched to players on the brink of history, and you'll see that implementation here in the form of "A 107" stamped coding sandwiching the MLB logo of the subject OML (Selig) sphere. An impact mark atop that Selig stamping recalls the power of A-Rod's swing. A serialized holographic Major League Baseball sticker affirms the special history, as does Rodriguez' signature and "500th HR Ball, hit 8/4/2007" notation, applied in 9/10 ballpoint ink. A photograph of Rodriguez signing the ball is included. Please note that the bat used to hit this ball and the uniform he was wearing are likewise on offer in this Platinum Night event. MLB Authentic BB566960. Photograph of Rodriguez signing. LOA from Heritage Auctions. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services.