500 Home Run Club

Introduction[edit]

Hitting 500 home runs is the gold standard among sluggers in baseball. The list of members of the 500 home run club reads like a "who's who" list of the all-time greats with names like Ruth, Aaron, Mays, Bonds etc. Hitting 500 home runs was once considered a guaranteed ticket to Cooperstown but that has all changed after the steroid scandal of the 1990s. Throughout MLB history, there have only been 28 players who joined the 500 home run club (as of 2021). On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the charter member of the club. It would be 11 years before a second player accomplished the feat. 11 of the 28 players hit their 500th homer in the 2000s.

The Babe was also the first American League player to hit 500 homers. Mel Ott became the charter member of the 500 home run club for the National League on August 1, 1945.

Records and Trivia[edit]

Alex Rodriguez is the youngest player to hit 500 home runs; he did so at 32 years, 8 days old. A-Rod is also the youngest player in American League history to hit 500 home runs. Willie Mays is the youngest 500 home run hitter in National League history; he did so at the age of 34 years, 130 days old. Ted Williams was the oldest player to hit his 500th home run; he did so at 41 years, 292 days old. The quickest player in Major League history to hit 500 home runs is Mark McGwire; he hit his 500th homer in his 1,639th game and his 5,487th at-bat. Sammy Sosa was the quickest National League player in history to reach 500 home runs; he did so in his 1,651th game and his 6,382nd at-bat in the NL. Babe Ruth holds the record in the American League; he reached the mark in his 1,740th game and his 5,801st at-bat. Eddie Murray took the longest time in history to hit 500 home runs, he reached the mark in his 2,950th game and his 11,095th at bat.

Members of the 500 Home Run Club[edit]

There are currently 28 players in the 500 Home Run Club. The most recent player to join the club is Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 500th home run on August 22, 2021. There are no members of the club who are currently active.

The members[edit]

Player	Home Runs	Date of 500th	Teams	Seasons
Barry Bonds	762	April 17, 2001	Pittsburgh, San Francisco	1986-2007
Hank Aaron	755	July 4, 1968	Milwaukee/Atlanta, Milwaukee (AL)	1954-1976
Babe Ruth	714	August 11, 1929	Boston (AL), New York (AL), Boston (NL)	1914-1935
Albert Pujols	703	April 22, 2014	St. Louis, Los Angeles (AL), Los Angeles (NL)	2001-2022
Alex Rodriguez	696	August 8, 2007	Seattle, Texas, New York (AL)	1994-2016
Jim Thome	612	September 16, 2007	Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago (AL), Los Angeles (NL), Minnesota	1991-2012
Willie Mays	660	September 13, 1965	New York/San Francisco, New York (NL)	1951-1973
Ken Griffey, Jr.	630	June 20, 2004	Seattle, Cincinnati, Chicago (AL)	1989-2010
Sammy Sosa	609	April 4, 2003	Texas, Chicago (AL), Chicago (NL), Baltimore	1989-2007
Frank Robinson	586	September 13, 1971	Cincinnati, Baltimore, Los Angeles (NL), California, Cleveland	1956-1976
Mark McGwire	583	August 5, 1999	Oakland St. Louis	1987-2001
Harmon Killebrew	573	August 8, 1971	Washington/Minnesota, Kansas City	1954-1975
Rafael Palmeiro	569	May 11, 2003	Chicago (NL), Texas, Baltimore	1986-2005
Reggie Jackson	563	September 17, 1984	Oakland, Baltimore, New York (AL), California	1967-1987
Manny Ramirez	555	May 31, 2008	Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles (NL), Tampa Bay	1993-2011
Mike Schmidt	548	April 18, 1987	Philadelphia	1972-1989
David Ortiz	541	September 12, 2015	Minnesota, Boston (AL)	1997-2016
Mickey Mantle	536	May 14, 1967	New York (AL)	1951-1968
Jimmie Foxx	534	September 24, 1940	Philadelphia (AL), Boston (AL), Chicago (NL), Philadelphia (NL)	1925-1945
Ted Williams	521	June 17, 1960	Boston (AL)	1939-1960
Willie McCovey	521	June 30, 1978	San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland	1959-1980
Frank Thomas	521	June 28, 2007	Chicago (AL), Toronto, Oakland	1990-2001
Eddie Mathews	512	July 14, 1967	Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta, Houston, Detroit	1952-1968
Ernie Banks	512	May 12, 1970	Chicago (NL)	1953-1971
Mel Ott	511	August 1, 1945	New York (NL)	1926-1947
Miguel Cabrera	511	August 22, 2021	Florida, Detroit	2003-2023
Gary Sheffield	509	April 17, 2009	Milwaukee, San Diego, Florida, Los Angeles (NL), Atlanta, New York (AL), Detroit, New York (NL)	1988-2009
Eddie Murray	504	September 6, 1996	Baltimore, Los Angeles (NL), New York (NL), Cleveland, Anaheim	1977-1997