Major League Baseball: Reaching 500 Home Runs Isn't as Special as it Used to Be

Throughout the course of baseball history, there have been certain milestones that virtually guaranteed a player enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, including 3,000 career hits, 300 wins and 500 home runs.

For example, 15 of the 16 officially retired members of the 500 home run club are in the Hall of Fame. The list includes: 1. Hank Aaron (755), 3. Babe Ruth (714), 4. Willie Mays (660), No. 6 Frank Robinson (586), No. 8 Harmon Killebrew (573), No. 10 Reggie Jackson (563), No.12 Mike Schmidt (548), No. 13 Mickey Mantle (536), No. 14 Jimmie Foxx (534), No. 15 Ted Williams (521), No. 15 Willie McCovey (521), No. 17 Ernie
Banks (512), No. 17 Eddie Matthews (512), No. 19 Mel Ott (511) and No. 20 Eddie Murray (504).

The only exception is Mark McGwire, who broke Ruth's single-season home run record in 1998 and is seventh on the all-time list with 583. But McGwire did not come close to receiving enough votes this past winter in his first year of eligibility because of his alleged steroid use. He was the first test case for a player eligible for the Hall of Fame in the steroid era and failed miserably, receiving a mere 23.5 percent of the vote from the sports writers (75 percent is needed for induction). It will be interesting to
see if he receives more support in the years to come.

Barry Bonds, who at the start of the season needed just 22 home runs to break one of the most sacred records in all of sports, and Ken Griffey (No. 11 with 563) are active members of the 500 home run club. Sammy Sosa (fifth on the list with 588) came out of retirement this year to sign with the Texas Rangers while Rafael Palmeiro (No. 9, 569) is not officially retired even though he has not played since 2005.

This year, membership in the 500 home run club is likely to increase as four players were within reach of the mark at the start of the season: Frank Thomas (487), Jim Thome (472), Manny Ramirez (470) and Alex Rodriguez (464). At the rate he's going, Rodriguez might get there by the All-Star break as he hit six home runs in the Yankees' first seven games.

That raises two questions. Has the value of 500 home runs been cheapened and will it guarantee Hall of Fame status for future players? There are two main reasons for the home run increase - smaller ballparks and less effective pitching. Some observers also will point top juiced up balls, something Major League Baseball always has denied.

Certainly, reaching 500 home runs doesn't have the same kind of cache as it did in Mantle's day. When Mantle hit No. 500 off Baltimore's Stu Miller on May 14, 1967, he became only the sixth player in major league history to reach the milestone, joining Ruth, Mays, Williams, Ott and Foxx. (Matthews also hit his 500th career home run later in the 1967 season.) Aaron clubbed No. 500 in 1968, while four players accomplished the feat in the 1970s - Banks, Robinson, Killebrew and McCovey. The club added two
new members in the 1980s - Jackson and Schmidt, bringing the total to 14.

The six recent additions are Murray, McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro and Griffey. If Thomas, Thome, Ramirez and Rodriguez reach 500 home runs this season - and they should -- membership will balloon to 24. Think about that. In less than two decades, the size of the club will have nearly doubled, and it probably won't stop there. Often disgruntled Gary Sheffield, now with the Detroit Tigers, his seventh team, needs 45 home runs to reach 500. He probably won't get there this season, but I have a feeling the 38-year-old Sheffield is going to want to stick around to hit No. 500.

With 407 home runs, Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets is probably two-plus seasons away from 500. Andruw Jones (342) and Vladimir Guerrero (338) have a ways to go but they are each young enough that they have at least five or six solid seasons left in their careers.

Since 2000, four players - Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro and Griffey - have hit their 500th home run, tying the record for the most times accomplished in a decade. By the end of the decade, that number could triple.

Yep, the magic of 500 home runs sure isn't what it used to be. The question is, Will they all end up in the Hall of Fame?