Oh right , it's all about team and not me......no matter how hard he tries he still comes across as a phony. A-Rod does it! New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez joins 600 home run club in 5-1 win over Jays BY Mark Feinsand DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 1:27 PM Updated: Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 3:20 PM When Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run, he felt the euphoria of a personal milestone that virtually guaranteed his entry into the Hall of Fame. Exactly three years later to the day, with his reputation sullied by the stain of steroids and his admittance to Cooperstown no longer a guarantee, A-Rod was jubilant as he reached the 600-home run plateau. But his elation, he said, was nothing compared to what he felt last November when he and his teammates celebrated the World Series title on the same field. "For me, the perspective of hitting 600 home runs, it feels really good," Rodriguez said. "But when you win a World Series - which is what I worked my whole life for - no personal achievement can compare to celebrating on the mound and being the last team standing." A-Rod ended a 13-day pursuit with his first-inning swing against Toronto's Shaun Marcum, drilling a 2-0 pitch over the center-field wall into the netting that protects Monument Park. A security guard retrieved the ball and returned it to A-Rod, who rewarded him with an autographed bat. After he crossed the plate, Rodriguez hugged Derek Jeter, who scored in front of him, then met his teammates in front of the dugout to receive their congratulations. "Everyone was so excited," Nick Swisher said. "We've been waiting on this for a while now and to finally get it done especially here at home, and the way that it happened - I mean, a home run to center field in this ballpark, man, you gotta be a big man to get up and hit it out of there. It was a great day." The Yankee Stadium crowd of 47,659 gave him a lengthy standing ovation before he came back out for a curtain call. "I felt bad for them," Rodriguez said. "I had them waiting a long, long time." As thrilled as Rodriguez was, he said he was happier the homer helped the Yankees end a three-game slide, as the Bombers salvaged the final game of their series against the Blue Jays with a 5-1 victory. "Many years from today, I'll be able to reflect a lot better," Rodriguez said. "Today, the focus was that we needed a win. It was good to do it in a winning fashion." Rodriguez, who turned 35 on July 27, is the youngest player to reach 600 homers. Babe Ruth - the only other player to hit No. 600 in a Yankees uniform - had held that distinction at 36 years, 196 days. Rodriguez has hit 255 of his homers with the Yankees, hitting 189 with the Mariners and 156 with the Rangers. No. 600 snapped a 46-at-bat homer drought for A-Rod, who also entered the game in an 0-for-17 funk. "There's no question I was pressing, because I wanted to get it out of the way to get back to playing good, small team baseball," he said. "It really felt good and it was a relief to put it past me and start focusing on good baseball." A-Rod becomes the seventh member of the 600 club, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa. A-Rod, Bonds and Sosa have all been embroiled in the steroids scandal in some fashion, and while some will surely look at Rodriguez's latest milestone with a critical eye, he insists he continues to look forward rather than to his sordid past. "I said at that press conference that there are certain things I would love to go back and change," Rodriguez said, referring to the Tampa session in February of 2009 in which he discussed his use of performance-enhancing drugs. "...I knew with the green in front of me, that I would have an opportunity to rewrite some of the chapters in my life and in my career, to try and do things right." Rodriguez is now 10 home runs away from moving past Sosa for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list. He will collect a $6 million bonus when he ties Mays and pocket an additional $6 million each time he ties Aaron, Ruth and Bonds, then a final $6 million if and when he becomes the all-time home run king. "That's something that we can revisit in two or three years and we'll see where we're at," Rodriguez said. "The journey is what's fun and playing for a team like that, with my teammates, I'm just in a good place." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2010/08/04/2010-08-04_arod_finally_joins_exclusive_600_home_run_club.html?page=1#ixzz0vkPeSPUR