About This Quiz
No money can buy your way into this club! The 500 home run club is exclusively for the heaviest of MLB hitters! Ball players have been standing at the plate since 1903. Did you know it was 26 years before the first player reached the 500 home run milestone? The second player wouldn't achieve this for another 11 years! Today, nearly 115 years and seasons later, there are less than 30 members. So, you want to know the secret to their success? Sorry, there isn't one! 14 of these players were right-handed, 11 of them were left-handed and two were switch hitters. Despite their varying statures and various field positions, they each had a common goal - hit the ball out of the park and round those bases every ... single ... time!
From Babe Ruth to Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron, most all members of this who's-who of baseball sluggers list have made their way to Cooperstown. The Baseball Hall of Fame is ready to welcome members of the 500 home run club, but it's not always a guarantee - first they need to be retired for five seasons, and second, they cannot be connected with any allegations involving performance enhancing substances.
How well do you know these MLB greats? Take this quiz now before it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game!
Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth Jr. on Feb. 6, 1985 in Baltimore Maryland. He was nicknamed The Bambino and also The Sultan of Swat.
Jimmie Foxx was a first baseman who threw right and batted right. He not only played for the Boston Red Sox, he was also a member of the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies during his 20 seasons in the MLB.
Barry Bonds was born on July 24, 1964 in Riverside, California. He batted left and threw left, beginning his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and finishing with the San Francisco Giants.
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Of these 27 players, 14 were right-handed batters, 11 were left-handed and 2 were switch hitters. There are 31 players in the 3,000 hit club.
Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama. He batted right, threw right and played 22 seasons as a center fielder for the New York/San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets.
Barry Bonds was a 14-time All-Star, 7-time NL MVP, 8-time Gold Glove Award winner, and the list goes on! He was just 65 hits short of joining the 3,000 hit club as well!
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Albert Pujols was born in the Dominican Republic on January 16, 1980. He began playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 and reached his 500th home run with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2014.
Major League Baseball was founded in 1903, formerly known as National League beginning in 1876. There are currently 30 teams, and the Houston Astros are the current title champions!
Gary Sheffield was born on Nov. 18, 1968 in Tampa, Florida. He had a .292 batting average with 2,689 career hits, 509 home runs and 1,676 RBIs.
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Five members of the 500 home run club are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Membership in the 500 home run club is sometimes described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, though this is not 100% true as five members have not yet been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Ken Griffey, Jr. is the 6th highest member of the 500 home run club. He hit 630 home runs in his career with 1,836 RBIs and a batting average of .284.
Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970 with the Chicago Cubs. He finished his 18-year career with 512 home runs in 1971.
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Mark McGwire played in the MLB for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1986 - 2001. He is currently a coach for the San Diego Padres.
Nicknamed The Mick and The Commerce Comet, Mickey Charles Mantle played in the MLB for the New York Yankees from 1951 - 1968. He hit 536 home runs in his career.
Eddie Murray was also a designated hitter. He played in the MLB for 20 seasons between 1977 and 1997. He reached his 500th home run on Sept. 6, 1996.
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Following his long playing career with the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams went on to manage the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers. His Red Sox #9 has been retired and he is a a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ernie Banks was born on Jan. 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas. He played for the Cubs from 1953 to 1971 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Harmon Killebrew achieved his 500th home run on Aug. 10, 1971 with the Minnesota Twins. He played in the MLB from 1954 - 1975 and had a total of 573 home runs during his career.
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David Ortiz won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He spent most of his career there, but also played with the Minnesota Twins for 5 of his 20 seasons in the MLB.
Mel Ott was not the typical size of such a power hitter. He stood just 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. He finished his career with 511 home runs and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
Samuel Kelvin Peralta Sosa was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic on Nov. 12, 1968. He played with four MLB teams during his career including the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.
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Babe Ruth was a seven-time World Series champion! His New York Yankees number 3 was retired on June 13, 1948.
Alex Rodriguez is the fourth leading member of the 500 home run club. He scored 696 home runs during his career which lasted from 1994 - 2013 and then another stint from 2015 - 2016.
Edwin Lee Mathews played his first MLB game with the Boston Braves and his last with the Detroit Tigers. He went on to manage the Atlanta Braves from 1972 - 1974, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.
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Foxx was born in Sudlersville, Maryland on Oct. 22, 1907. A statue of him was erected in his hometown on Oct. 25, 1997 and he is remembered as one of the greatest baseball players ever to have played.
Mike Schmidt played in the MLB from 1972 - 1989. He joined the 500 home run club on April 18, 1987 and retired two years later with 548!
Manny Ramirez played in the MLB from 1993 - 2011. He was named an All-Star 12 times, won the World Series two times and was named World Series MVP once! He ended his career with 555 home runs.
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Born in Havana, Cuba in 1964, Rafael Palmeiro was a lefty baseball player. Though reaching major milestones as the 500 home run club and the 3,000 hit club, he was suspended for testing positive for anabolic steroids in 2005.
Melvin Thomas Ott was nicknamed "Master Melvin." He was a right fielder for the New York Giants from 1926 through 1947, and died at the age of 49 in 1958.
Did you know... Barry Bonds was intentionally walked by opposing teams 688 times in his career? And he still managed to be the NL home run leader in both 1993 and 2001, and the MLB all time!
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He was also known as "Big Mac." Born in Mobile, Alabama, he was once described as the "scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson!
Jim Thome has the 8th-highest number of home runs of all members of the 500 home run club! He joined the club on Sept. 16, 2007 while playing for the Chicago White Sox.
David Ortiz joined the 500 home run club on Sept. 12, 2015 with the Boston Red Sox. He retired just one year later in 2016, not before scoring another 41 home runs! His record is 541.
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George Kenneth Griffey Jr. was nicknamed "Junior" and "The Kid". He played 22 years in the MLB playing mostly with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and a short time with the Chicago White Sox.