Alex Rodriguez's next home run will give the Yankees a huge legal headache


Alex Rodriguez mashed his 659th career home run Sunday, putting him one behind Willie Mays on the all-time dinger list. And though the home run helped the Yankees eke out a win, the team's front office may wish A-Rod kept the ball in the park.
That's because Rodriguez's contract includes a series of $6 million bonuses for various home run milestones, the first of which kicks in when Rodriguez ties Mays at 660. The Yankees are reportedly eyeing legal action to deny A-Rod those bonuses, which would be petty for any organization, but especially so for one with the deepest pockets in baseball.
Considering how well he's swung the bat in the season's first month, Rodriguez should tie Mays in short order. No one came out of last year's litigation between A-Rod and the Yankees looking good, and there's no reason to expect a different outcome from the looming legal fight either.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
How global conflicts are reshaping flight paths
Under the Radar Airlines are having to take longer and convoluted routes to avoid conflict zones
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia