500 home run club - Definition

In Major League Baseball, the 500 home run club is an informal term applied to the group of players who have hit 500 or more career home runs. As of 2004 only 20 players have accomplished this. In general, the 500th home run is not a surprise, as the player has been approaching the mark for some time. However, teams will often interrupt the game in which the player hits his 500th home run in order to honor him on reaching an historically significant milestone in what has been an excellent baseball career. The 500 home run club was "founded" by Babe Ruth in 1929. At the time, he had more than twice as many home runs as any other player.

Rarely mentioned are the 600 home run club and the 700 home run club, which have 4 and 3 members respectively, as of September 2004.

See also: Top 500 Home Run Hitters of all time.

The club

As of 2004 there are 20 players in the 500 home run club:

† still active