Baseball is an integral part of a lot of countries’ sports landscapes. This sport has established itself over the years and professional players of baseball have already decorated their names.
One of baseball’s most popular features is home runs. A baseball player’s recorded home runs are detrimental to his career — including his net worth and popularity.
You’d ask, “how many baseball players have hit 500 home runs?” There are 28 of them.
Who are they? You’re about to find out!
Contents
How Many Baseball Players Have Hit 500 Home Runs?
What is a home run in baseball?
For context, home runs happen in baseball when a batter hits the ball convincingly enough with such power that he is able to run around the bases of the field safely, and then arrives at the home plate without interruptions. It is in this manner that when players are able to score many home runs in their career, they will go down as one of the most famous and dignified names in the sport.
500 home run hitters
Since Babe Ruth’s era, one of baseball’s most stellar achievements has been hitting 500 home runs. Over the years, only 28 baseball players have had 500 home runs out of almost 20,000 major league players.
With this feat, they can claim membership in the Major League Baseball (MLB) 500 Home Run Club, which requires both tremendous annual productivity and strength across varied offensive climates as eras come and go.
Take a peak at the prestigious 500 home run club in chronological order, arranged according to the date of hitting the 500th home run:
| Player | Date of their 500th home run (mm/dd/yyyy) | Number of home runs | Teams | Seasons |
| Babe Ruth | 8/11/1929 | 714 | New York (AL), Boston (American and National Leagues) | From 1914 to 1935 |
| Jimmie Foxx | 9/24/1940 | 534 | Philadelphia (PL), Boston (AL), Chicago (NL), Philadelphia (NL) | From 1925 to 1945 |
| Mel Ott | 8/1/1945 | 511 | New York (NL) | From 1926 to 1947 |
| Ted Williams | 6/17/1960 | 521 | Boston (AL) | From 1939 to 1960 |
| Willie Mays | 9/13/1965 | 660 | San Francisco and New York City (NL) | From 1951 to 1973 |
| Mickey Mantle | 5/14/1967 | 536 | New York (AL) | From 1951 to 1968 |
| Eddie Matthews | 7/14/1967 | 512 | Boston/Atlanta/Milwaukee, Houston, Detroit | From 1952 to 1968 |
| Hank Aaron | 7/4/1968 | 755 | Milwaukee/Atlanta, Milwaukee (AL) | From 1954 to 1976 |
| Ernie Banks | 5/12/1970 | 512 | Chicago (NL) | From 1953 to 1971 |
| Harmon Killebrew | 8/8/1971 | 573 | Kansas City, Minnesota, and Washington | From 1954 to 1975 |
| Frank Robinson | 9/13/1971 | 586 | Los Angeles (NL), Cincinnati, Cleveland, California, Baltimore | From 1956 to 1976 |
| Willie McCovey | 6/30/1978 | 521 | San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland | From 1959 to 1980 |
| Reggie Jackson | 9/17/1984 | 563 | California, Oakland, Baltimore, and New York in the American League | From 1967 to 1987 |
| Mike Schmidt | 4/18/1987 | 548 | Philadelphia | From 1972 to 1989 |
| Eddie Murray | 9/6/1996 | 504 | Los Angeles (NL), Cleveland, New York (NL), Baltimore, Anaheim | From 1977 to 1997 |
| Mark McGwire | 8/5/1999 | 583 | Oakland St. Louis | From 1987 to 2001 |
| Barry Bonds | 4/17/2001 | 762 | Pittsburg, San Francisco | From 1986 to 2007 |
| Sammy Sosa | 4/4/2003 | 609 | Texas, Chicago (National and American Leagues), Baltimore | From 1989 to 2007 |
| Rafael Palmeiro | 5/11/2003 | 569 | Texas, Chicago (NL), Baltimore | From 1986 to 2005 |
| Ken Griffey, Jr. | 6/20/2004 | 630 | Cicinatti, Seattle, Chicago (AL) | From 1989 to 2010 |
| Frank Thomas | 6/28/2007 | 521 | Chicago (AL), Oakland, Toronto | From 1990 to 2001 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 8/8/2007 | 696 | Texas, Seattle, New York (AL) | From 1994 to 2016 |
| Jim Thome | 9/16/2007 | 612 | Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles (NL), Chicago (AL), Minnesota | From 1991 to 2012 |
| Manny Ramirez | 5/31/2008 | 555 | Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles (NL), Tampa Bay | From 1993 to 2011 |
| Gary Sheffield | 4/17/2009 | 509 | San Diego, Milwaukee, Los Angeles (National League), New York (AL and NL), Atlanta, Detroit | From 1988 to 2009 |
| Albert Pujols | 4/22/2014 | 703 | St. Louis, Los Angeles (AL), Los Angeles (NL) | From 2001 to present |
| David Ortiz | 9/12/2015 | 541 | Boston, Minnesota (AL) | From 1997 to 2016 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 8/22/2021 | 507 | Detroit, Florida | From 2003 to present |
Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 500th home run on August 22, 2021, is the most recent member to join the list of MLB players with 500 home runs. Among this list, only he is still active as Albert Pujols recently announced his retirement in 2022.
Youngest player to hit 500 home runs
Out of all the players who hit 500 home runs, the youngest player who has reached this feat is Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. He smashed his legendary home run at the age of 32 years with the historic match held at Yankee Stadium.
Fastest to 500 home runs
Mark McGwire became the first player in Major League history to hit over 500 home runs the quickest; he did so in just 1,639 games and 5,487 at-bats.
500 home runs and 3,000 hits
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers records his 3,000th hit against the Colorado Rockies. Joining Aaron, Rodriguez, Pujols, Murray, Mays, and Palmeiro as some of the players in MLB history with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, Cabrera is one of seven players with these feats.
How Many Players Hit 600 Home Runs?
The all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball is Barry Bonds. Between 1986 and 2007, while he played for the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates, he blasted a record-breaking 762 home runs.
In the elusive list of MLB players who have 500 home runs, four out of 28 have reached 700 home runs, while five players managed to hit 600 home runs. Topping this list is the aforementioned Barry Bonds.
He is then followed by Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Ken Giffrey Jr., Jim Thome, and Sammy Sosa.
Does a Home Run Win a Game?
A winning home run must be hit in the bottom of the last inning and produce more points than the opposing team. A home run that concludes the game is termed a “walk-off” home run.
Conclusion
All the names mentioned in this article have contributed greatly to the development of baseball. In fact, these are only a few of the names that have made an impact. There are so many more people in the sport who deserve recognition.
If you’re here by chance or by choice, I hope you’ve learned a thing or two about “how many baseball players have hit 500 home runs”. But more than that, I hope you enjoyed this read.
Should you want to vent your thoughts, leave us a message. Thanks for staying ‘till the end! On to the next!
A powerful swing and the ball is flying across the field, just one hit, and we might never forget the thrill it brings. I do not know about you, but I never do. Every baseball game is the chance to compete with others and cooperate with your teammate. It is among my biggest passions.
