2007 Home Run Milestones: Year in Review

The 2007 season was a banner season for the hitting of milestone home runs. Three hitters hit the 500th home runs of their careers, one hit his 600th, and oh yeah, the all time career home run mark was eclipsed. Let's take a look back at the historic home runs of the 2007 season.

Alex Rodriguez 500th Home Run - Arod hit his 500th home run during his monster season, one that saw him winning the MVP award and finishing with 54 HR for the season and 518 for his career. Amazingly, Rodriguez is not yet 33 years old, and still has a lot of playing left in him. He has been mentioned as someone who has a shot at breaking the all-time career home run record some day.

Frank Thomas 500th Home Run - "The Big Hurt" continued to put a hurt on baseballs in 2007, hitting 26 home runs in a 2007 season in which he turned 39 years old. He finished the season with 514 home runs, and looks to add to that total in 2008. He'll turn 40 in May, so he's nearing the end, but Thomas has cemented his status as one of the greats of his era, and a sure-fire Hall of Famer when he comes eligible.

Jim Thome 500th Home Run - Thome hit his 500th home run as one of the 35 home runs he hit in 2007. He finished the year with 507 career home runs at age 37. Unlike with Thomas and Arod, some question Thome's Hall of Fame credentials, and he is considered a borderline candidate at this point. A big season in 2008, when he'll turn 38 would do a lot to sway more voters to his side.

Sammy Sosa 600th Home Run - After a terrible 2005 season with Baltimore, Sosa sat out the entire 2006 season, and looked finished. He came to spring training in 2007 with the Texas Rangers, however, and made the team. He had a solid season, hitting 21 home runs, including the 600th of his career. He finished the season with 609 career home runs, good for #5 on the all time list. As of this writing, 2008 Spring Training is starting, and Sosa is once again looking for a team. This could be the end of the road for the slugger made famous by his thrilling 1998 home run race with Mark McGwire. Unfortunately, like McGwire, Sosa's legacy is tainted by suspicions of steroid use. How voters will view him when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame remains to be seen.

Barry Bonds 756th Home Run - Bonds, one of the most talented but divisive characters in the game's long history, hit 28 home runs in 2007, including the 756th of his career. That home run moved him past Hank Aaron into first place on the all time home run list. Bonds finished the season with 762 career home runs, and he reportedly wants to come back and play in 2008, though no team has yet voiced interest in making that happen. Bonds legal woes, stemming from his alleged use of steroids and subsequent lying about the subject to a grand jury while under oath, further lower the chances of Bonds appearing in uniform in 2008.

As you can see from the list above, 2007 was a great season for milestone home runs.