500 home run club

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 500 home run club is a term given to the group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs.  This record stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974. Aaron's ending career total, 755, stayed the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season. The most recent player to reach 500 home runs is Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 500th home run on August 22, 2021. Twenty-eight players are members of the 500 home run club. Since Cabrera's retirement at the end of the 2023 season, there have been no active club members.

Of these 28 players, 15 were right-handed batters, 11 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters (meaning they could bat from either side of the plate). Two franchises have had four players reach 500 home runs while on the roster. The San Francisco Giants are represented by Mel Ott while the team was in New York, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and most recently Bonds. The Boston Red Sox are represented by Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz. Seven 500 home run club members—Aaron, Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and Cabrera—are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Gary Sheffield's 500th home run was his first career home run with the New York Mets, the first time that a player's 500th home run was also his first with his franchise. Alex Rodriguez, at 32 years and 8 days, was the youngest player to hit 500.  Ted Williams, at 41 years and 291 days, was the oldest.

Until fairly recent times, becoming a member of the 500 home run club was sometimes described as a guarantee of entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some believe the milestone has become less meaningful in recent years, and several members have not been enshrined in the Hall. Seven eligible club members—Bonds, Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Palmeiro, Ramirez, Sheffield, and Sammy Sosa—have not been elected to the Hall. Bonds is one of only four members in the 700 home run club and Rodriguez and Sosa are members of the 600-homer club, all of whose other members are Hall of Famers except for the recently retired Pujols, who hit 703 career home runs and is not eligible until the 2027 balloting for the Hall's 2028 induction class. 

Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or be dead for at least six months. Some believe the milestone has become less important with the large number of new members; 10 players joined the club from 1999 to 2009. Also, several of these recent members have had ties to performance-enhancing drugs. Some believe that by not electing McGwire to the Hall, the voters were starting a "guideline" on how they would treat players from the "Steroid Era". Since then, Bonds and Sosa have also failed to earn election. More recently, Palmeiro became the first club member to be dropped from the Hall of Fame ballot, failing to earn enough votes (5% of votes cast) in the 2014 election to stay on the ballot. 

Key
PlayerName of the playerHRCareer home runsDateDate of the player's 500th home runTeamThe batter's team for his 500th home runSeasonsThe seasons this player played in the major leagues†Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame*Denotes player who is still active

Members
Statistics up to date as of the end of the 2023 season, the last in which any club member was active
PlayerHRDateTeamSeasonsRef(s)762San Francisco Giants1986–2007†755Atlanta Braves1954–1976†714New York Yankees1914–1935   703    Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  2001–2022     696 New York Yankees1994–2013,2015–2016†660San Francisco Giants1951–1973   630 Cincinnati Reds1989–2010   612    Chicago White Sox  1991–2012  609Chicago Cubs1989–2005, 2007†586Baltimore Orioles1956–1976583St. Louis Cardinals1986–2001†573Minnesota Twins1954–1975569Texas Rangers1986–2005†563California Angels1967–1987555Boston Red Sox1993–2011†548Philadelphia Phillies1972–1989   541    Boston Red Sox  1997–2016  †536New York Yankees1951–1968†534Boston Red Sox1925–1942, 1944–1945†521Boston Red Sox1939–1942, 1946–1960†521San Francisco Giants1959–1980 † 521Toronto Blue Jays1990–2008†512Chicago Cubs1953–1971†512Houston Astros1952–1968†511New York Giants1926–1947   511    Detroit Tigers  2002–2023  509New York Mets1988–2009†504Baltimore Orioles1977–1997

The only active player within 50 home runs of 500 is Giancarlo Stanton, who ended the 2025 season with 453 homers.

Footnotes
Although MLB.com's 500 Home Run Club page lists Mathews at 511 home runs, his listings on both MLB.com and Baseball-Reference show 512.

References
General

Specific

Category:Baseball statistics