Sports | New York Yankees A-Rod Passes Mantle's HR Record Yankee slams 537th homer on emotional day for team By Katherine Thompson Posted Jul 13, 2008 8:45 AM CDT Copied New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, left, celebrates his solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, July 12, 2008 in Toronto. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Harris) Alex Rodriguez smashed a 3-2 pitch from Toronto's Brian Tallet into the foul pole to claim his 537th career home run yesterday, surpassing Micky Mantle's record on the day Yankee great Bobby Murcer died. The All-Star didn't realize he had moved into 13th place on the all-time homer list until after the game, when he heard about Murcer's death, reports the New York Times. “There are no random events. I’m sure it’s a sign, somehow, the day that I pass Mantle. Bobby will be watching us. He’ll be cheering on the Yankees for all time," Rodriguez said of Murcer, whom he described as Mantle's successor. The next benchmark for A-Rod is Mike Schmidt's total of 548 homers. Read These Next RFK Jr. suggests antidepressants to blame after shooting. Isolated tribe members show up in an unexpected place. Trump just used a spending maneuver last seen nearly 50 years ago. A government watchdog is warning the FAA about meteorologists. Report an error