Today is the eight-year anniversary of my very first blog post AND my 600th post! Thank you so much to everyone who has read my stuff over these past eight wonderful years, whether you're a day one fan or are just stumbling upon my posts this year. Now, onto the baseball history!
It only makes sense to talk about the 600 Home Run Club for my 600th post, one of the most exclusive clubs throughout the history of America's pastime. Let's break down the numbers. 600 home runs would take an average of 30 homers for 20 years. Considering the 500 Home Run Club is about three times as plentiful, you can understand how truly hard it is to hit 600 career home runs. Besides the steroid-users, every member of the 600 Home Run Club is in the Hall of Fame, so let's talk about some of those MLB legends.
Jim Thome
The king of the walk-off home run totaled 612 home runs during his 22-year career with mainly the Indians. What's interesting to look at with Thome is his lack of recognition as a power hitter throughout his career; he only made five All Star Games, the least amount of ASGs amongst the guys with 600+ homers (not including Babe Ruth, who played a majority of his career without an All Star Game). However, Jim was an integral part of the Cleveland teams of the 1990s, one of the greatest dynasties that wasn't a dynasty.
Ken Griffey, Jr.
The Kid is undeniably the best player in the history of the Seattle Mariners. If only he didn't beg for a trade to his hometown Cincinnati Reds. Anyway, Griffey's 630 homers rank seventh on the all-time list, helped out by league-leading years in home runs in 1994 (40 in only 111 games) and 1997-1999 (56, 56, and 48, respectively). He had 40 or more home runs in a season seven times and won the Home Run Derby a record three times.
Albert Pujols
Similar situation to Griffey, except his big drop-off in power came with free agency and not a trade. Nonetheless, Pujols is one of the greatest hitters of my generation. Besides having 656 career home runs, he also has 3,202 career hits, making him one of four hitters in history with 600+ homers and 3,000+ hits. Pujols's 35 homers a season is the highest average homers per year among members of the 600 Home Run Club, and is also the active leader in career home runs.
Willie Mays
We move into the Top Five! The Say Hey Kid smacked 660 career homers during his 22-year run with the Giants and Mets, cementing himself as one of the candidates for baseball's Mount Rushmore. Mays was a four-time home run champ and is the only military veteran of the 600 Home Run Club. He is also the fastest member of the club, with 338 career stolen bases.
Babe Ruth
THE BEST HITTER IN BASEBALL HISTORY (sorry, I just had to reiterate that statement) was the first member of the 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 Home Run Clubs. His 714 home runs were the highest in baseball history for 39 years, and the metric currently ranks third all-time. He is the only member of the club who played in the first half of the 20th century, but is also the club member with the most single-season home run titles (12).
Hank Aaron
The second member of the 700 Home Run Club ended his career with 756 home runs, which currently ranks second on the all-time list. However, among members of the 600 Home Run Club, he ranks first in hits (third all-time with 3,771) RBIs, and All Star Game appearances (his 2,297 careers runs batted in and 25 All Star Games are both first all-time). Aaron was a four-time home run champ, and is another candidate for baseball's Mount Rushmore.
Thanks again to everyone for supporting me through 600 posts, and I hope you enjoyed this particular post. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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