500 home run club
![A man in full baseball attire wears a pinstriped jersey and a hat with overlapping white "N" and "Y". Looking to the left of the camera, he is holding a baseball bat upward.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Babe_Ruth2.jpg/170px-Babe_Ruth2.jpg)
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 500 home run club is a group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. There are twenty-eight players who are members of the 500 home run club. Seven 500 home run club members—Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera—are also members of the 3,000 hit club.
In the past, membership in the 500 home run club was a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although some believe the milestone has become less meaningful in recent years and many members have not been enshrined in Cooperstown.[1][2][3][4]
All 15 players who became members of the 500 home run club between 1929 and 1996 are members of the Hall of Fame. Of the 11 players who made the 500 homer club between 1999 and 2015 who are Hall of Fame eligible, only four have been enshrined in Cooperstown. Seven eligible club members—Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa—have not been elected to the Hall. Bonds is one of only four members in the 700 home run club and Rodriguez and Sosa are members of the 600 homer club, all of whose other members are Hall of Famers except for the recently retired Albert Pujols, who hit 703 career home runs and is not eligible until 2027.
Bonds and Sosa made their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013; Bonds received only 36.2% and Sosa 12.5% of the total votes, with 75% required for induction.[5] Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or be deceased for at least six months. Some believe the milestone has become less important with the large number of new members; 10 players joined the club from 1999 to 2009.[1] Additionally, several of these recent members - including all seven aforementioned eligible members - have had ties to performance-enhancing drugs.[1][4][6] Some believe that by not electing McGwire to the Hall the voters were establishing a "referendum" on how they would treat players from the "Steroid Era".[7][8] On January 8, 2014, Palmeiro became the first member of the club to be removed from the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot after failing to appear on at least 5.0% of ballots.[9]
On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth surpassed Roger Connor's record of 138 career homers during the 1921 season, and was the first player to hit 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 career home runs. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974.[10] Aaron's ultimate career total, 755, remained the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season.[10] The most recent player to reach 500 home runs is Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 500th home run on August 22, 2021;[11][12] As of the end of the 2023 season, there are no active members of the club.
Key
[edit]![An African American man in a white baseball uniform with "GIANTS" on the chest takes a left-handed baseball swing as a catcher kneels behind him to receive the pitch.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg/220px-20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg)
Player | Name of the player |
---|---|
HR | Career home runs |
Date | Date of the player's 500th home run |
Team | The batter's team at the time of his 500th home run |
Seasons | The seasons this player played in the major leagues |
* | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
‡ | Denotes player who is still active |
Members
[edit]![A dark-skinned man in a black baseball jersey and gray pants takes a right-handed baseball swing with a crowd in the background, several people wearing red.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Ortizpoint.jpg/170px-Ortizpoint.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Miguel_Cabrera_in_2014_%2814174921525%29.jpg/170px-Miguel_Cabrera_in_2014_%2814174921525%29.jpg)
- Stats updated as of the end of the 2023 season.
See also
[edit]- 600 home run club
- Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame, includes a "500 Homerun Club" exhibit
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- 3,000 hit club
- The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, 2007 non-fiction book
References
[edit]- General
- "Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- "500 Home Run Club – Milestones". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ a b c Passan, Jeff (April 18, 2009). "500 home run club losing its cachet". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Curry, Jack (April 27, 2008). "500 Home Runs, Zero Certainty for Thome". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ Romano, John (April 22, 2009). "Gary Sheffield's 500 home runs is merely a number, and not a very special one". St. Petersburg Times. www.tampabay.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Swartz, Cody (April 19, 2009). "Why 500 Home Runs No Longer Guarantees Admission to the Hall of Fame". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "2013 Hall of Fame Vote a Shutout" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
- ^ Kurkjian, Tim (January 9, 2012). "Whopper of a list of names await in 2013". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
- ^ "Bonds says Rose, McGwire belong in Hall of Fame". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 18, 2007. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "McGwire denied Hall; Gwynn, Ripken get in". NBC Sports. Associated Press. January 10, 2007. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Rafael Palmeiro Becomes First Fatality of PED Era". Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- ^ a b "Progressive Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ "500 Home Run Club". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- ^ Kelly, Matt (September 7, 2021). "The 500 Home Run Club". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Barry Bonds Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Hank Aaron Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Babe Ruth Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ White, Paul (April 22, 2014). "Albert Pujols: 500 home runs, and looking like old self". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (August 4, 2007). "A-Rod belts historic 500th homer". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Alex Rodriguez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Willie Mays Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Ken Griffey Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Jim Thome Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Sammy Sosa Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Alex Rodriguez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Mark McGwire Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Harmon Killebrew Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Rafael Palmeiro Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Reggie Jackson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Manny Ramirez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ Browne, Ian (June 1, 2008). "Manny cements his place in history". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Mike Schmidt Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "David Ortiz Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ "Mickey Mantle Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Jimmie Foxx Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Willie McCovey Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Frank Thomas Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ Kieser, Joe (June 28, 2007). "Thomas launches No. 500 at Metrodome". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Ted Williams Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Ernie Banks Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Eddie Mathews Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Mel Ott Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Miguel Cabrera Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Ghiroli, Brittany (April 18, 2009). "Sheffield joins elite club with No. 500". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Gary Sheffield Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Eddie Murray Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.