There’s a reason that baseball is known as “America’s
Game,” and that billions of ravenous fans can’t seem to get enough…and it’s
called the Home Run. Fans love the
long ball. And today’s generation of fans are the luckiest ever because
they have the pleasure of watching the game’s greatest power hitters “do their
thing” in person…not to mention in primetime, hi-def, big screen,
surround-sound splendor.
While Major League Baseball’s tradition of selecting the All-Star Game’s
Most Valuable Player to recognize the most outstanding performer in
each year’s game, didn’t begin until 1962, baseball historians and
knowledgeable fans agree that Ted Williams personified the MVP spirit.
Aside from the MLB All-Star Game itself and the Home Run
Derby, the most anticipated and watched element of each year’s All-Star Weekend
is the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. Once again this year, “Mr. Cub®” Ernie
Banks will be heading up the National League team, which is looking to rebound
after last year’s loss in Anaheim.
Minnesota Twins Bids Fond Farewell
To The Original Twin Star in Arizona, Fans Remember Beloved Legend at Target
Field
Harmon Killebrew was
the Minnesota Twins’ first and most enduring superstar, playing 14 thunderous
seasons and then continuing his role as the face of the franchise after
becoming its first Hall of Fame inductee in 1984.
Millions of people worldwide look forward to seeing what the next Sports Illustrated cover is going to be. And SI's commitment to featuring baseball’s greatest
sluggers was made abundantly clear when it spotlighted 500 Home Run Club
member Eddie Mathews hitting a titanic blast out of Milwaukee’s
cavernous County Stadium on the cover of its inaugural issue on August
16, 1954.
June has always been a pivotal month for major league teams, and it
was the month that many members of the 500 Home Run Club hit their
pivotal long balls.
I’m delighted to announced
that my friends at Triumph Books have teamed up with Chicago Tribune reporter/
author Phil Rogers to publish a new biography of you know who entitled “Ernie
Banks: Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69.”
500HRC Greats Battled At The Plate…and In The Military
Members of the 500 Home Run Club were known for their
ability to “fight off” inside fastballs and knock baseballs into the “wild blue
yonder.” But two of MLB’s greatest sluggers (Ted Williams and Willie
Mays) also took time out of the playing career to serve in our nation’s
military.
The old saying “Behind Every Great Man Stands A Great
Women” has certainly proven true over the years as 500 Home Run Club® members’
spouses supported their men – before and after they became stars – through the
good and lean years, and helped them to cope with the pressures and
responsibilities that came with being amongst the greatest sluggers in MLB
history.
Mays Claimed Share of MLB Record With Four Homers In Single
Game
On April 30, 1961 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, The San
Francisco Giants scored fourteen runs against the Braves and eight of them
belonged to Willie Mays.The “Say
Hey Kid” put on a dazzling display of power by going deep in the first, third,
sixth, and eighth inning.
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is one of the most
anticipated days of the year, with fans in cities all over the nation, and
around the world, sitting on the edge of their seat in anticipation of
spectacular exploits and amazing performances to come during the spanking new
season. And no one delivered more excitement on Opening Day than the
members of The 500 Home Run Club®.
On a frigid April 17th afternoon in 1976, with the wind
whistling out of Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Mike Schmidt led his beloved Phillies
to one of the most improvable victories in MLB history, with four home
runs.He also became the first
National Leaguer to hit four homers in a row.
Tell-All
Book Chronicles The Life and Thunderous Career of Baseball's Mr. October
On the September 17, 1984, Reggie Jackson celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of his first
Major League round-tripper, by connected off of Kansas City Royals pitcher Bud Black for his
500th career home run. When asked about hitting so many home runs, Jackson was
quoted as saying “God do I love to hit that little round sum-bitch out of the
park and make 'em say WOW!"
In 1951 the Yankees trained in Arizona instead of Fort
Lauderdale. The dry desert air and higher altitude are conducive to the long
ball, and Mickey made the most of it.
After he posted a .627 slugging percentage in 340 plate
appearances and sending 25 home runs screaming into the sky during a 2010
season that surprised just about everyone whose last name isn’t Thome, the
Thomenator is fulfilling on his promise (see "I'll Be Back")by returning for what he predicts
will be another productive year with the Minnesota Twins.
After 22 years of never backing down at the plate,
despite having pitchers like Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax dial up their meanest
fast balls, nastiest sliders, and scariest curve balls in an effort to defeat
him…it’s no surprise that500 Home Run Club® member Harmon Killebrew is confidently preparing for a fight with perhaps the toughest adversary he’s ever faced: esophageal cancer.
In honor of Black History Month – which was established
to encourage Americans of all races to recall and celebrate the positive
contributions to our nation made by people of African descent – we’ve assembled
quotes from members of the 500 Home Run Club® on what Jackie Robinson meant to
the sport of baseball as it has evolved over the years, as well as what Jackie
meant to them personally and professionally.
After 18 seasons of being a “difference maker” for the
Red Sox and Dodgers, Manny Ramirez had a less than “Manny Being Manny” kinda
year in 2010. His trademark smile
and good-natured spirit were less often on display, while his trademark swing
that terrorized teams in both leagues over the past decade was less than awesome.
After a joyous reunion with Tony La Russa in St. Louis,
and a successful first year as the hitting coach of his beloved Cardinals, the
man know to millions as simply “Big Mac” is hard at work getting the redbirds’
speedy young guns ready to battle for the National League Central crown.