“Big Jim” Has Sights Set On 600

With 17 towering home runs so far in 2010 (as of August 20) and 581 to date in his 20 season MLB career, Jim Thome has muscled his way past another hard-hitting career infielder Harmon Killebrew (573) to take the 10th spot all time.  Next up for “The Thomenator” is Mark “Big Mac” McGwire who retired with 583.

...but had to wait until ‘09 to hit the one that really mattered

On September 8, 2008, Detroit Tiger DH Gary Sheffield hit career home run No. 496, which also happened to be the 250,000th regular season home run in Major League Baseball history (source: Baseball-Reference.com).   It took 133 years for thousands of major leaguers to crank out a quarter of a million long balls, but the final two came off Sheffield’s bat in two consecutive innings.  After knocking out baseball’s 249,999th home run in his previous at bat, the “Swinging Sheff” repeated the feat by cranking a grand slam off Oakland A’s starter Gio Gonzalez.  http://bit.ly/Sheffield250000HR

The only thing hotter than Andruw Jones, who hit career long ball No. 400 on July 11, is his White Sox team that triumphed for the 25th time in 30 games to complete the season’s most meteoric first-half turnaround. After trailing the Twins by 9 games on June 8th, Chicago’s south side team ignited into baseball’s hottest commodity…and thanks to a legion of long ball hitters (led by DH Jones) blasted past Detroit and Minnesota to take over first place in the AL Central Division.

“Big Country” Adam Dunn is not one to waste words or swings at the plate.  “I look for a pitch to hit, and hit it hard,” Dunn said after his recent brush with greatness (July 7) when he became the 345th MLB player to hit three home runs in a single contest.  “I don't have an approach to change," Dunn said. "That's all I've got."

On July 21, 1915, Boston Red Sox rookie Babe Ruth struck a prodigious drive that sailed far over the right field bleachers at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The ball cleared the wide breadth of Grand Boulevard and landed on the sidewalk approximately 470 feet from home plate. That was the start of modern long-distance hitting, and a testament to Ruth's uniqueness that he was able to set objective standards of performance that have never been surpassed.

You couldn’t blame Harmon Killebrew if August was his favorite month.  After all, he blasted the 500th and 501st home runs of his career on August 10, 1971, to become only the tenth man to reach the milestone at the time.

Did you ever wonder what it feels like to stand on the pitching mound while MLB’s elite sluggers are sending balls screaming over your head and into the grandstands?  Well thanks to the onset of 3D technology and innovative programming by ESPN, this year’s State Farm Home Run Derby telecast on Monday, July 12 at 8 p.m. EST will be among the big events coming to you in all it’s 3D glory.

In today’s world of sports specialization, pro athletes succeed because they’re very good at one particular position.  But Harmon Killebrew succeeded with the Minnesota Twins of the 1960s because he was able to fill whatever defensive hole the team needed filled…while performing at an All-Star level at the plate. 

Generations of Americans have thrilled to the pageantry of summertime baseball in major league ballparks. And for those lucky fans who witnessed the greatest hitters of all time – members of the 500 Home Run Club® – blast out long balls under the bright big-league lights and the strobing effect of thousands of flashbulbs, nothing else will ever surpass the spectacle.

On May 8, 2010, “Mr. Cub™” Ernie Banks and his wife Liz Banks, who is president/founder of The 500 Home Run Club®, LLC, were special guests at The Volunteer Center’s Golden Gala as the non-profit organization celebrated its achievements over the past 50 years as the first Volunteer Center in the state of Illinois. 

The first and only teammates to hit No. 300 back-to-back were Chicago White Sox sluggers Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko (who currently leads the American League with 13-and-counting home runs in 2010 and has 339 career long balls).  On April 13, 2009 the duo became the first MLB teammates to hit their 300th career home runs BACK-TO-BACK. This landmark achievement was something that no other power-hitting duo has ever done in the long history of major leagues.

While most Americans are teeing off with their friends at their local golf course during the summer months, 500 Home Run Club® members teed off in their own way during June.

On May 8, 2007, The Milwaukee Brewers inducted 500 Home Run Club® member Eddie Mathews (512 career homers) into the Miller Park Walk of Fame.  In the first year of voting, Mathews joined Warren Spahn as one of only two non-Brewer players to be featured at Miller Park, when each received more than the required 75% of the vote for election.

Fellow 500 Home Run Club® member Ted Williams famously said "They invented the All-Star game for Willie Mays!"  But some might contend the honor most befitting “Say Hey” Willie’s inspirational life – during and after his MLB career – is the MLB “Beacon of Life” Award, which will be bestowed upon him on Saturday, May 15 as part of the pre-game festivities surrounding the 2010 Gillette Civil Rights Game in Cincinnati.

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.

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®.

The 500 Home Run Club® is still one of the most exclusive groups in professional sports. Before 1984, only 14 major league sluggers hit more than 500 career long balls, and nobody breached the legendary plateau from 1988 through 1995.

500 Home Run Club Members Rained Homers in April

521 Homers and 18 Impressive Seasons Fuel His Legacy; Case For Hall of Fame

500 Home Run Club® FACEBOOK and Individual Member Pages

Thanks to everyone who has joined as a fan of our 500 HRC FACEBOOK page and to those who haven’t yet joined us, please do so.