Sometimes the stats just work out really well.
Yankees' Cody Bellinger ties Don Mattingly on MLB home run record list originally appeared on The Sporting News
Major League Baseball stats are the best. They bridge eras in a way that doesn't quite work the same in other sports.
On Thursday night, New York Yankees star Cody Bellinger joined a pinstripe legend in the record books in a very cool way.
Bellinger left the yard for the Yankees, his 222nd career home run.
That moved him into a tie for 319th place in MLB history.
The players he's tied with? Don Mattingly (and Jason Bay).
Mattingly, of course, hit all of his home runs for the Yankees.
Bellinger did a lot of his damage for the Dodgers before also playing for the Cubs before arriving in the Bronx.
The sweet lefty swinger has looked right at home with the Yankees. That short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium doesn't hurt, either.
Looking that far down the home run record list is actually quite fun.
When Bellinger hits his 223rd homer, he'll be tied with Bobby Doerr, Travis Fryman and Mike Lowell.
Some of the names coming up soon are Bobby Grich, Troy Tulowitzki and an active guy still moving up as well in Rafael Devers.
Bellinger won't ever get to 500 or anything like that. But he's still a special hitter, and he gets to hang out with Mattingly for a bit now.
MORE: Pirates' Bubba Chandler puts up stats never done in MLB history
Category: Baseball
