The 600 Home Run Club

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 15, 2011

The 600 Home Run Club

Jim Thome

Thome didn't waste any time, hitting Nos. 599 and 600 in back-to-back at-bats against the Tigers on Aug. 15, 2011. Though Thome was 40 years old when he hit 600, he was the second-fastest hitter to reach the milestone, in at-bat No. 8,137. Babe Ruth needed only 6,921 at-bats.

Sammy Sosa

The only player with three 60-homer seasons, Sosa holds the record for most home runs over a five-year span (292 between 1998-2002). He connected for his 600th home run on June 20, 2007, against the Chicago Cubs, his former team. His career remains clouded by steroid suspicions and the discovery of a corked bat.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez endured a drought of almost two weeks between his 599th and 600th home runs, but when he finally got there on Aug. 4, 2010 -- three years to the day since his 500th homer -- he became the youngest player to reach that milestone.

Ken Griffey Jr.

Known for his glove and magnetic smile as much as his bat, Griffey was one of the most highly acclaimed outfielders in baseball during the early stages of his career in Seattle. He went on to become the youngest player ever to join the 400 Home Run Club. Later, numerous injuries would take their toll. He became the sixth member the 600 Club on June 9, 2008, with a first-inning, two-run shot off Marlins lefty Mark Hendrickson.

Willie Mays

The Say Hey Kid led the NL in homers four times and posted 11 30-homer seasons. His 600th career homer came on September 22, 1969, against Mike Corkins of the San Diego Padres. The 24-time All-Star is perhaps still best remembered for his over-the-shoulder catch of a Vic Wertz fly ball in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.

Babe Ruth

Ruth was the first man in major league history to hit 30, 40, 50 and 60 homers. The first member of the 500-Home Run Club, the Bambino also went on to become the charter member of the 600 Club on Aug. 21, 1931 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ruth took right-hander George Blaeholder deep in the third inning, a two-run shot that bounced off a parked car on Grand Avenue beyond the right-field wall. Ruth's ball was retrieved and exchanged for an autographed replacement plus cash.

Hank Aaron

Hammerin' Hank never hit as many as 50 homers in a season, but he did hit 40 or more eight times. He joined the 600 Home Run Club on April 28, 1971, and the victim that night was the Giants' Gaylord Perry. He would hit 155 more and hold the record for career home runs until 2007.

Barry Bonds

Perhaps the most polarizing figure in baseball history, Bonds hit his 600th homer on Aug. 9, 2002 -- one season after he shattered the single-season home run record by launching 73. Soon after, Bonds would become one of the central figures in a federal steroids investigation.