500 home run club

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
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.
Barry Bonds joined the 500 home run club in 2001 and set a new career home run record of 762 in 2007.

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. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974.[1] Aaron's ultimate career total, 755, remained the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season.[1] Twenty-seven players are members of the 500 home run club.

Of these 27 players, 14 were right-handed batters, 11 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters. The San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox are the only franchises to see four players reach the milestone while on their roster: Mel Ott while the team was in New York, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and most recently Bonds, and Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and more recently Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Five 500 home run club members—Aaron, Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez—are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Sheffield's 500th home run was his first career home run with the New York Mets, the first time that a player's 500th home run was also his first with his franchise.[2] Alex Rodriguez, at 32 years and 8 days, was the youngest player to reach the milestone while Ted Williams, at 41 years and 291 days, was the oldest.[2][3]

Membership in the 500 home run club is sometimes described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although some believe the milestone has become less meaningful in recent years.[4][5][6][7] Five eligible club members—Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa—have not been elected to the Hall. 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.[8] Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or be deceased for at least six months,[9] disqualifying four living players who have been active within the past five seasons. Some believe the milestone has become less important with the large number of new members; 10 players joined the club from 1999 to 2009.[4] Additionally, several of these recent members have had ties to performance-enhancing drugs.[4][7][10] 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".[11][12] On January 8, 2014, Rafael Palmeiro became the first member of the 500 Home Run Club to be removed from the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. As the BBWAA announced the selections for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2014, Palmeiro appeared on just 4.4% of the ballots. Players must be named on at least of 5.0% of ballots to remain on future ballots.[13]

Three players on the 500 club are still active: Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz. Of these, Rodriguez is active leader in home runs with 687.[14]

Key

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
dagger Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
double-dagger Denotes player who is still active

Members

  • Statistics are updated through 2015 Major League Baseball season
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.
Babe Ruth was the first player to reach 500 home runs and set a career home run mark of 714 that stood until 1974.
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.
David Ortiz is the most recent player to hit 500 home runs, one of 12 to reach the milestone from 1999 to 2015.
Player HR Date Team Seasons played Ref(s)
Barry Bonds 762 April 17, 2001 San Francisco Giants 1986–2007 [15]
Hank Aarondagger 755 July 14, 1968 Atlanta Braves 1954–1976 [16]
Babe Ruthdagger 714 August 11, 1929 New York Yankees 1914–1935 [17]
Alex Rodriguezdouble-dagger 687 August 4, 2007 New York Yankees 1994–2013, 2015–present [3][18]
Willie Maysdagger 660 September 13, 1965 San Francisco Giants 1951–1952, 1954–1973 [19]
Ken Griffey, Jr.dagger 630 June 20, 2004 Cincinnati Reds 1989–2010 [20]
Jim Thome 612 September 16, 2007 Chicago White Sox 1991–2012 [5][21]
Sammy Sosa 609 April 4, 2003 Chicago Cubs 1989–2005, 2007 [22]
Frank Robinsondagger 586 September 13, 1971 Baltimore Orioles 1956–1976 [23]
Mark McGwire 583 August 5, 1999 St. Louis Cardinals 1986–2001 [24]
Harmon Killebrewdagger 573 August 10, 1971 Minnesota Twins 1954–1975 [25]
Rafael Palmeiro 569 May 11, 2003 Texas Rangers 1986–2005 [26]
Reggie Jacksondagger 563 September 17, 1984 California Angels 1967–1987 [27]
Albert Pujolsdouble-dagger 560 April 22, 2014 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2001–present [28]
Manny Ramirez 555 May 31, 2008 Boston Red Sox 1993–2011 [29][30]
Mike Schmidtdagger 548 April 18, 1987 Philadelphia Phillies 1972–1989 [31]
Mickey Mantledagger 536 May 14, 1967 New York Yankees 1951–1968 [32]
Jimmie Foxxdagger 534 September 24, 1940 Boston Red Sox 1925–1942, 1944–1945 [33]
Willie McCoveydagger 521 June 30, 1978 San Francisco Giants 1959–1980 [34]
Frank Thomasdagger 521 June 28, 2007 Toronto Blue Jays 1990–2008 [35][36]
Ted Williamsdagger 521 June 17, 1960 Boston Red Sox 1939–1942, 1946–1960 [37]
Ernie Banksdagger 512 May 12, 1970 Chicago Cubs 1953–1971 [38]
Eddie Mathewsdagger 512 July 14, 1967 Houston Astros 1952–1968 [39]
Mel Ottdagger 511 August 1, 1945 New York Giants 1926–1947 [40]
Gary Sheffield 509 April 17, 2009 New York Mets 1988–2009 [2][41]
Eddie Murraydagger 504 September 6, 1996 Baltimore Orioles 1977–1997 [42]
David Ortizdouble-dagger 503 September 12, 2015 Boston Red Sox 1997–present [43]

See also

References

General
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Specific
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=500_home_run_club&oldid=1773195"