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This page is updated every now and then by my #1 Yankee Fan, Chris.

We made this page in January, 1999. Statistics are current through 2000.

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And now we are into Year 2000!!

Last Revised on October 03, 2000 12:28:00 PM

Active Order
Retired Order
Those Closing in on 300
Those Closing in on 200

Statistical Analysis
Predictions
Homer Club Notes
500 Homer Breakdown

Refer to the following table and go directly to complete home run stats of the greatest:

Active Order:

Slugger (Active)

Currently at

Age

Retired

Total

#7 Mark McGwire

554

37

#1 Hank Aaron

755

#15 Barry Bonds

494

37

#2 Babe Ruth

714

#20 Jose Canseco

446

38

#3 Willie Mays

660

#22 Ken Griffey Jr.

438

31

#4 Frank Robinson

586

#25 Fred McGriff

417

39

#5 Harmon Killebrew

573

#25 Cal Ripken Jr.

417

41

#6 Reggie Jackson

563

#29 Rafael Palmeiro

400

36

#8 Mike Schmidt

548

#36 Sammy Sosa

385

32

#9 Mickey Mantle

536

#37 Hal Baines

382

41

#10 Jimmie Foxx

534

#37 Albert Belle

382

37

#11 Willie McCovey

521

#44 Juan Gonzalez

362

31

#11 Ted Williams

521

#46 Andres Galarraga

360

38

#12 Eddie Mathews

512

#53 Matt Williams

346

36

#12 Ernie Banks

512

#54 Frank Thomas

344

32

#13 Mel Ott

511

#61 Greg Vaughn

319 35

#14 Eddie Murray

504

#67 Jeff Bagwell

310

36

#16 Lou Gehrig

493

#68 Jay Buhner

308

36

#17 Willie Stargell

475

#17 Stan Musial

475

#18 Dave Winfield

465

#19 Carl Yastremski

452

#21 Dave Kingman

442

#23 Andre Dawson

428

#24 Billy Williams

426

#26 Darrell Evans

414

#28 Duke Snider

407

#30 Al Kaline

399

#31 Dale Murphy

398

#32 Joe Carter

396

#33 Craig Nettles

390

#34 Johnny Bench

389

#35 Dwight Evans

385

#36 Frank Howard

382

#36 Jim Rice

382

#38 Tony Perez

379

#38 Orlando Cepeda

379

#39 Norm Cash

377

#40 Carlton Fisk

376

#41 Rocky Colavito

374

#42 Gil Hodges

370

#43 Ralph Kiner

369

#45 Joe DiMaggio

361

#47 Johnny Mize

359

#48 Yogi Berra

358

#49 Lee May

354

#50 Gary Gaetti

351

#50 Dick Allen

351

#51 Chili Davis

350

#52 George Foster

348

#55 Ron Santo

342

#56 Jack Clark

340

#57 Boog Powell

339

#57 Dave Parker

339

#58 Don Baylor

338

#59 Joe Adcock

336

#60 Darryl Strawberry

332

#60 Bobby Bonds

332

#61 Hank Greenberg

331

#62 Willie Horton

325

#63 Lance Parrish

324

#63 Gary Carter

324

#64 Roy Sievers

318

#65 George Brett

317

#66 Reggie Smith

314

#68 Greg Luzinski

307

#68 Al Simmons

307

#69 Fred Lynn

306

#70 Rogers Hornsby

301

#71 Chuck Klein

300

#72 Mo Vaughn 297

#73 Kent Hrbek

293

#74 Ron Gant 292

#74 Rusty Staub

292

#75 Jim Wynn

291

#76 Cecil Fielder

289

Amazing stats on Junior

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Those Closing in on 300:

Player HR's Player HR's Player HR's Player HR's
Ellis Burks 285 Will Clark 284 Ricky Henderson 282 Bobby Bonilla 282
Eric Davis 278 Mike Piazza 278 David Justice 276 Gary Sheffield 276
Larry Walker 271 Dean Palmer 265 Dante Bichette 262 Paul O' Neill 260
Eric Karros 242 Manny Ramirez 236 Jim Thome 235 Tim Salmon 230
Tino Martinez 229 Robin Ventura 227 Ken Caminiti 224 Edgar Martinez 214
Vinny Castilla 209 Travis Fryman 209 Ray Lankford 207 Todd Zeile 205
Wally Joyner 201 Brady Anderson 201

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Those Closing in on 200:

Player HR's Player HR's Player HR's Player HR's
Jeff Kent 195 Alex Rodriguez 189 Chipper Jones 189 Carlos Delgado 188
Raul Mondesi 187 Steve Finley 186 Mike Stanley 186 John Olerud 184
Bernie Williams 181 Jay Bell 180 Barry Larkin 179 Benito Santiago 178
Moises Alou 175 Ivan Rodriguez 171 Todd Hundley 170 Jim Edmonds 163
B.J. Surhoff 160 Craig Biggio 160 Henry Rodriguez 160 Jeromy Burnitz 154
Ed Sprague 150 Mark Grace 148 Marquis Grisom 145 John Jaha 141
Vladimir Guerrero 138 Bobby Higginson 134        

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Statisical Analysis of the Homer Hitters:

Average age to start = 20.6 years old

Average playing time = 19.1 years

Most before age 25 = Mel Ott 211

Most before age 30 = Ken Griffey 395 (beat previous record held by Jimmie Foxx 379)

Most before age 35 = Willie Mays 532

Most before age 40 = Hank Aaron 713

Most over age 35 = Babe Ruth 238

Most over age 40 = Dave Winfield 59

Best 10 year period = Babe Ruth – 470 (between the ages of 30 and 39) average of 47 a year

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Predictions:

Assuming 19 years playing time, this is where some active players would end up:

Ken Griffey Jr. assume 7 more seasons - 800 dingers - would place him first all-time!

Juan Gonzalez assume 8 more seasons - 740 dingers - would place him third all-time!

Mark McGwire assume 4 more seasons - 750 dingers  - would place him third all-time

Barry Bonds - assume 4 more seasons - 700 dingers - would place him fourth all-time

Jose Canseco - assume 3 more seasons - 600 dingers - would place him sixth all-time

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Homer Club Notes

If the 500-homer club needs a headquarters, a good place would be Mobile, Ala., birthplace of Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey. The third member from Alabama is Willie Mays, born in Westfield. Not bad for a football-mad state.

Also contributing three members is Texas (Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews and Frank Robinson).

McGwire's entry will be the third by a native Californian, along with Ted Williams and Eddie Murray.

Size doesn't matter.

The 6-5, 250-pound McGwire easily will be the biggest man in the club. McCovey was 6-4, 210 in his prime, and Williams was listed at 6-3, 205. The smallest was Mel Ott, at 5-9, 170. Three other sub-6-footers are in: Mays, Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, all 5-11. 30-plus thumping. McGwire has something in common with the most productive members of the 500-homer club. Of the players ranked 1-7 for homers all-time, five hit more after the age of 30 than before. Robinson and Killebrew are the exceptions.

Of those ranked 8th-15th, only Williams increased production after turning 30. For the 35-year-old McGwire, No. 500 will boost his after-30 homers to 271.

Doing it with style. Most entries into the 500-homer club have been made in the twilight of careers. One exception was Babe Ruth, who became the first 500-homer hitter while slugging 46 to lead the AL in 1929.

But the most productive year while hitting No. 500 was by Mays, during a 52-homer season that led the major leagues in 1965. McGwire is on pace to top that. They don't move much. Only McGwire, Robinson and Murray will have more than100 homers in each league.

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Who's not in.

No second baseman or catcher has come close to joining the 500-homer club, which is dominated by outfielders. In terms of position, the remarkable member is Banks, whose eight seasons at shortstop make him the only middle infielder.

The proud moment.

Only Mathews can say he hit No. 500 against a Hall of Fame pitcher, Juan Marichal.

Jimmie Foxx's 500th, in 1940, was the first of four homers in the inning by the Red Sox. Also going deep were Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, and a future 500-club member, Williams. Foxx's milestone came against the Athletics, making him the only player to get No. 500 vs. his former team.

Environment.

There has been much ado about Ruth abusing the short porch at Yankee Stadium and of Hank Aaron being helped by the so-called Launching Pad known as Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. But Ruth's career home-road home run breakdown is 347-367. Aaron's is 385-370.

Such balance is true for almost everyone in the 500-homer club, with two notable exceptions. Banks hit 290 homers at Wrigley Field and 222 on the road. But no 500-homer hitter took greater advantage of his home park than left-handed Ott at the Polo Grounds in New York. During Ott's 1926-47 career, the right-field corner ranged from 256 to 259 feet, with a 10-foot, 8-inch wall. Ott had 323 homers there, and only 188 on the road.

HR titles.

Ruth leads the pack (12), followed by Mike Schmidt (eight) and Killebrew and Ott (six each). Murray came dangerously close to being the only member without a homer title, tying three other players at 22 in strike-shortened 1981.

The bad news.

So far, Williams has the unsettling distinction of being the only member of the 500-homer club to celebrate a 70th birthday. Williams will turn 81 on Aug. 30. Next-oldest living members are Banks and Mays, both 68.

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Dying young:

Ruth, from throat cancer at 53 in 1948; Ott, at 49 in 1958 when his car was hit by a drunk driver; Foxx, at 59 in 1967, when he choked on a piece of meat; and Mantle, at 63 in 1995, from liver cancer.

 

St. Louis Cardinals’ Mark McGwire is six home runs shy of reaching 500 for his career (through 7/29/99). In doing so, McGwire would be the first player to hit No. 400 and 500 in consecutive seasons. Big Mac, 35 years old, also would reach the milestone in only 13 seasons, quicker than any other player.

 

In chronological order, a breakdown of the 500 club:

Name

Date of # 500

Age

Season

Babe Ruth Aug. 11, ’29 34 yrs, 186 days 15th
Jimmie Foxx Sept. 24, ’40 32 yrs, 338 days 15th
Mel Ott Aug. 1, ’45 36 yrs, 152 days 20th
Ted Williams June 17, ’60 41 yrs, 292 days 19th
Willie Mays  Sept. 13, ’65  34 yrs, 131 days  14th
Mickey Mantle  May 14, ’67  35 yrs, 207 days  17th
Eddie Mathews  July 14, ’67  35 yrs, 275 days  16th
Hank Aaron  July, 14, ’68  34 yrs, 160 days  15th
Ernie Banks  May 12, ’70  39 yrs, 102 days  17th
Harmon Killebrew  Aug. 10, ’71  35 yrs, 42 days  18th
Frank Robinson  Sept. 13, ’71  36 yrs, 13 days  16th
Willie McCovey  June 30, ‘78  40 yrs, 171 days  20th
Reggie Jackson  Sept. 17, ‘84  38 yrs, 123 days  18th
Mike Schmidt  April 18, ’87  37 yrs, 203 days  15th
Eddie Murray  Sept. 6, ‘96  40 yrs, 195 days  19th
Mark McGwire August, 1999 36 yrs 12th

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