Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira joined the 400 home run club in dramatic fashion on Sunday in San Diego, joining Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones, and Carlos Beltran as the only switch-hitters in Major League Baseball history with at least 400 home runs, according to Baseball Reference.
The 36-year-old’s milestone blast came in the top of the eighth off of Padres right-hander Carlos Villanueva, a solo-shot that landed in the right field seats to extend New York’s lead to 3-1. But the afternoon wasn’t over for Teixeira, as his 401st long ball was drilled the next inning, a two-run shot off of righty Kevin Quackenbush that put the score at 6-1.
It was Teixeira’s 293rd and 294th long ball from the left side of the plate, and the fourth home run tallied since returning from the disabled list on June 25.
Entering Sunday, Teixeira shared 55th place on the all-time home runs list with Andres Galarraga and Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline, and now trails veteran teammate Carlos Beltran for 54th place all-time at 411.
Teixeira became the seventh active player to belong to the 400 home runs club, with the next closest players being Ryan Howard at 368 and Prince Fielder at 317.
