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There
are a number of ways to end up in the baseball Hall of Fame. A lot depends on
the type of player and the position that they play. Pitchers can end up in the
Hall of Fame because of the number of strikeout that they have, or the number
of times that they step into the mound. Sometimes a player can end up in the
Hall due to the number of singles, games played or because they rack up a huge
number of stats on the defensive end. These days, however, one of the most
absolutely sure ways to end up at Cooperstown is to find your way into the 500
Home Run Club.
 The number of players who have
reached that club is extremely small when you consider the sheer number of
players who have played the game. Currently there are only 25 players in the
entire century-plus long history of the game of baseball in the 500 Home Run
Club. Of all of those players, the first player to reach over 500 home runs was
Babe Ruth. He would also end his career with over 700 home runs total.
Hank Aaron is another name that
you probably know who hit over 500 homers and ended up on the Hall of Fame. Hank
also broke the Babe’s total career home run record and retired with 755 under
his belt.
Willie Mays is another in the 500
Club and in the Hall of fame. He retired with a total of 660.
Frank Robinson is another legend
who hit his 500th homer on September 143, 1971 while with the Baltimore
Orioles. He played from 1956 through 1976 and ended up retiring with 586 homers
total.
 Harmon Killebrew played for the
Minnesota Twins and hit his 500th homer in August of 1971. He retired with 573
homers.
Reggie Jackson, Mr. October,
retired from baseball in 1987. He had a career total of 563 home runs. He hit
his 500th homer in September of 1984.
 Mike Schmidt hit 548 total home
runs for his career. Mickey Mantle, of course, is in the Hall of Fame and he
had 536 homers total. Jimmie Foxx played for the Boston Red Sox and he ended
his career with 534 homers. Ted Williams retired with 521 and Willie McCovey
retired with 521 total home runs.
Ernie Banks spend his entire
career with the Chicago Cubs and retired in 1971 with 512 homers. Right there,
tied with Banks, is Eddie Mathews who retired with 512. Mel Ott was right behind
them with 511 homers total. Finally, there’s Eddie Murray who retired with 504
homers.
There are a number of players out
there, such as Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones and Jim Thome, who have hit 500
homers, but have not yet retired. As such, they are not in the Hall of Fame. It
seems likely, however, that their 500+ home runs mean that they will soon join
all of the legends listed above. Of course, that remains to be seen. |
