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.
 

Mets Slugger Receives Flood Of Congratulatory Messages After Hitting 500th Career Home Run.

The gladiator in him couldn’t allow Jim Thome to fully enjoy his 548th home run (that moved him into a tie for 13th place on the all-time home run list with Hall-of-Famer Mike Schmidt), because the White Sox lost the May 19th game to Toronto.

Sports Illustrated’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.

500 HRC 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.

Mays, Schmidt and Oh Share Record With Four Homers In Single Game

Mays Goes “FOUR” It

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.  Mays later credited the fact that he used teammate Joey Amalfitano's bat during the game for his stunning display of power.

Gary Sheffield; The Ultimate Journeyman Slugger Raps Out 500 Home Runs Playing For Eight Different Franchises

As he has throughout his playing career, Gary Sheffield became the 25th member of The 500 Home Run Club® on Friday, April 17, 2009 by defying convention and playing by his own rules.  Signed just days before the start of the 2009 season to play in the New York Mets beautiful new Citi Field, “The Iron Sheff” didn’t care if he started in right field or came of the bench as a pinch hitter when the game was on the line for The Mets…as long as he got his cuts at the plate.

Members’ Game-Worn Jerseys Demand Historical Bids at Auction

1954 Mickey Mantle Game-Worn Jersey Sold For $119,500.00  MLB Players of this era were issued only two home and two road jerseys per season, and the fine wear is appropriate for an estimated forty games of use.  Pick any road event from the 1954 season, and there's a 50/50 chance “The Commerce Comet” was sporting this very jersey.  And the odds were good that he posed for his 1955 Bowman baseball card (inset) in this classic flannel shirt. And he was likely wearing this very shirt when he made himself an unwelcome “visitor” by hitting a late-inning pitch entirely out of the Detroit Tiger’s Briggs Stadium on August 8th of that year.
 

Leave it to the 500 Home Run Club to combine two of your favorite things:  home run trivia and Facebook. You guessed it, we’ve created the official 500HRC Facebook page. Just log on to our facebook page and join as a fan, to get started connecting with other 500 Home Run Club fans worldwide.

Prior to 1984, only 14 major league sluggers hit more than 500 career homers.  And from 1988 through 1995, nobody reached the legendary home run plateau.  But when “Steady Eddie” Murray crashed through the 500 barrier in 1996 it signaled a second coming of aggressive new hitting stars.

Other sports have season openers, but the “Opening Day” of America’s Pastime marks the ceremonial beginning of spring. Every MLB team starts the season with a clean slate and fans never know what they may see on Opening Day…like a game winning home run from one of history’s greatest sluggers – a 500 Home Run Club member.

Baseball’s biggest stars dazzle in movies, TV, music, awards shows

While today’s elite athletes train year-round, (see Manny Maxes-Out in Off Season) the winter months have always provided major leaguers with a much needed reprieve from the physical and mental challenges of 162 regular season games – not to mention the heightened emotions and stress of post-season playoffs.

When, Where and How Of Our Newest Members’ Ascent To The Magical #500
Like the 70’s pop song “Anticipation,” the prospect of knocking out home run number 500 is music to the ears of Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield.  After finished the 2008 MLB season with the tantalizing total of 499 career homers, The “Iron Shef” is looking forward to become the 25th member of The 500 Home Run Club® in the early days of the 2009 baseball season.

Generations of baseball fans, in Chicago and worldwide, have celebrated "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks as one of the greatest players and living ambassadors ever to grace the world of professional sports.

As manager of the Chicago Cubs during the 2003 season, Dusty Baker had a front row seat for Sammy Sosa’s history making 500th home run on April 4, 2003. “It was like déjà vu,” said Baker, who watched Sosa’s historic long ball from the visitor’s dugout in Cincinnati.

Long before 500 Home Run Club® members thrilled crowds with titanic blasts into the upper decks or towering fly balls that splashed outside the stadium… batting star Ross Barnes is credited with hitting the first home run in the organized Major League while he played for the Chicago White Stockings, the ancestors of today's Chicago Cubs.

LIFE Magazine Covered 500 HRC Members... features Ted Williams, Honorary 500HRC members Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays

Looking back through the archives of LIFE Magazine covers offers an unmatched glimpse of Americana, but a surprisingly few faces from America’s Game. The majority of MLB baseball players featured on the cover of LIFE were chosen because they were both icons in U.S. history and the greatest hitters of all time…the members of the 500 Home Run Club.

Which pitch did 500 Home Run Club members prefer, and Why? 

Hammerin’ Hank Aaron

Henry Aaron (shown in this 1957 picture with Ted Williams below) said the best way to hit the curve ball was not to miss the fastball. "Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution."

MLB’s Ultimate Journeyman Slugger Stands at 499…With A Big Smile
 
Gary Sheffield's chase for 500 home runs will have to wait for the 2009 season, but that suits him just fine. For the Detroit fan favorite who ended 2008 with 499 career home runs, joining the prestigious 500 Home Run Club® is just another reason for him to look forward to next season.

For 13 years, Harmon Killebrew (affectionately nicknamed "Killer" in contradiction of his easy going nature) provided “gifts” to Minnesota Twins fans in the form of skyrocketing home runs and gift-wrapped double plays.