12-26-2019, 05:09 AM
When Albert Pujols slugged his 499th and 500th home runs the other night at Washington, he became the 51st player in history to reach that magic figure that in most cases guarantees a player a spot in the Hall of Fame. I dont consider myself to be that old, but I was amazed when I looked at the all-time home run list and realized I had seen 47 of the 51, either in person or on live TV. The ones I wasnt born early enough to see included Mel Ott, number 23 on the list with 511, number 18 Ted Williams at 521, number 17 Jimmie Foxx at 534 and of course the immortal Babe Ruth at number 3 with 714. Of those four, I was even fortunate enough to have seen Williams in person when he and Joe DiMaggio appeared at the 1991 All-Star Game in Toronto. I guess my point is home run hitting beyond a select few didnt really begin to take off until the likes of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider took centre stage in the 1950s and then took another quantum leap in the steroid era that began in the late 80s. Two of the greatest hitters of all-time, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, hit 103 and 101 home runs respectively in careers that lasted over 20 years apiece. Funny that Wally Pipp, the man Lou Gehrig replaced at first base with the Yankees, hit 90 homers in the Majors. Gehrig, who set the longest consecutive games played streak (until it was surpassed by Cal Ripken Jr.) went on to hit 493 home runs. Pujols was the first player in five years to reach the 500 figure and that made me wonder, who might be next? Then I wondered if Pujols could possibly be the last. I wont likely live long enough to answer that question, but there are still a couple of players who have a shot in the next two or three years if they stick around that long. Adam Dunn, the White Sox prodigious slugger, should reach 500. Hes only 34 and just hit his 445th homer, a monster shot over the scoreboard at Comerica Park this week. Dunn made noises about retiring last season, when the White Sox kept piling up loss after loss. But Chicagos decent start this year and the lure of 500 will probably keep him around for a couple of more seasons. David Ortiz, the face of the Red Sox, is four years older at 38, but he only needs 65 more dingers to reach 500. Hes got a shot. The next group of three falls into the unlikely category. Clevelands Jason Giambi has 438 homers, but hes 43 years old. Dunns White Sox teammate Paul Konerko has 434 but isnt playing much these days and intends to retire at the end of the season. The Yankees Alfonso Soriano like Konerko is 38, but only has 410. He would have to hit 40-45 this year to have a chance. The funny thing is of those five players only Ortiz would appear to have a shot at the Hall of Fame. Konerko is a definite maybe, but the steroid connection could keep Giambi out. Since Dunn was so one dimensional, he could become the first to hit 500 homers who wont make it to Cooperstown. Further down the list you have the Rangers 35-year-old third baseman Adrian Beltre who was 376 homers. It could be a stretch for him considering his age and the fact he has already been on the disabled list this season. Tigers mega-star Miguel Cabrera may take another three or four years, but should crack 500. He has 367 now and is only 31. The Yankees Carlos Beltran is only four homers behind "Miggy" at 363, but he is 37. Prince Fielder, who appeared to be a lock a couple of years ago, is sitting on 287 at age 30. Seven more years averaging 30 homers a season and hed have a chance. Incidently, the top active Blue Jays home run hitter is Jose Bautista at 217, followed by Edwin Encarnacion at 196. If I had to bet, Id say Cabrera and Dunn will be the only two to reach 500 in the next two to four years. It could be a long wait, if ever, before it happens again after that. One last note on the chase for 500 homers. Phillies slugging first baseman Ryan Howard reached 100 homers quicker than anyone in history in 2007. Then in 2009 he arrived at 200 faster than anybody else. Now into his fifth season since then, thanks in large part to injuries, his pace has dropped off and hes hit 316 homers. At 34, 500 for Ryan Howard is little more than a dream. The odds of any of us seeing another 300-game winning pitcher are even more remote. The top active pitcher right now is Yankees lefty C.C. Sabathia at 208. Hes 33, but more than that, hes not quite the dominating pitcher he was two years ago and had elbow concerns last year. The Giants Tim Hudson is right behind him at 207 victories, but hes 38. After those two you dip down to the ageless Bartolo Colon of the Mets with 191 victories. The fourth-highest active pitcher in terms of victories is Blue Jays wily veteran lefty Mark Buehrle. At 35, he has 190 victories against 142 losses with a 3.81 ERA. For Hall of Fame voters, 250 victories could become the new 300 in the very near future. Considering his iron man innings stats Buehrle could at least bump himself into the Cooperstown conversation, with another four or five years of 13 or 14 wins. On The Mark Speaking of Buehrle, he takes his 4-0 record into a vital three-game set with Boston this weekend at Rogers Centre. Buehrle will be pitching in the series opener on Friday night against Bosox righty Jake Peavy. The Jays have slipped back to .500 at 11-11 after giving up solid leads at home in their last two games and getting shellacked by Baltimore. The Jays have now fallen to 4-5 at home and 6-7 against the AL East. This three-game set against Boston pretty well completes the first 25 per cent segment against the East. Right now Toronto is sitting in third place, one game up on Tampa Bay and one-and-a-half up on last place Boston. At the very least the Blue Jays need to take two out of three to stop the bleeding before they hit the road for Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Getting swept by Boston could drop the Jays into the cellar and start the same snowball rolling that saw them tumble to 73 and 74 wins the last two seasons. Air Jordan 1 Retro .com) - The St. Air Jordan 1 From China . Not to be outdone, Atletico Madrid bettered its title rivals by demolishing 10-man Getafe 7-0 with Diego Costa returning from injury to score with a brilliant bicycle kick. "It was an almost perfect night," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. https://www.cheapairjordan1outlet.com/ . Campbell, playing on loan with Greek club Olympiacos, found the net with a left-footed shot in the 44th minute off a pass from second-half substitute Jorge Rojas to open the scoring at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. Air Jordan 1 Discount .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Cheap Air Jordan 1 . -- Derek Jeter spoke for 25 minutes, 44 seconds and answered 26 questions about his decision to retire at the end of this season.It will take the last game of the regular season to determine what seed the Toronto Raptors will be for the playoffs. The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 8pm et/5pm pt. Toronto will fall to the No. 4 spot if it loses and the Bulls top the Bobcats. In the postseason for the first time since 2007-08, the Atlantic Division- champion Raptors set a franchise record for wins with Mondays 110-100 victory versus the Milwaukee Bucks at Air Canada Centre. Greivis Vasquez started in place of DeMar DeRozan and made five 3-pointers en route to 25 points, while Kyle Lowry added 24 points for Toronto, which posted its team-best 48th win. DeMar DeRozan, who was held out of Mondays win over Milwaukee for rest, will return to the lineup. The previous record of 47 wins was achieved twice in 2000-01 and 2006-07. "I always have been ready for any opportunity since I got here," Vasquez said. "Im all about winning and they gave me a chance to start, and I want to help the team win and have a presence in games." Jonas Valanciunas recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors reached the 100-point mark for a seventh straight game. DeMar DeRozan, who was held out of Mondays win over Milwaukee for rest, will return to the lineup. His 22.8 scoring average is the highest since former Raptor and current Miami center Chris Bosh averaged 22.7 ppg in 2008-09. DeRozan is posting 24.2 points in the last six games. The Raptors have won nine of their last 11 games and will try to work on their 22-18 road record at MSG. They have won four of the lastt five road contests.dddddddddddd New York spoiled Brooklyns chances of locking up the No. 5 seed in the East with Tuesdays 109-98 victory over the Nets at Barclays Center. With All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony shut down for the rest of the season with a shoulder issue, rookie Tim Hardaway, Jr. posted a team-best 16 points. Amare Stoudemire, J.R. Smith and Shannon Brown scored 14 points apiece, while Cole Aldrich ended with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who missed out on the eighth seed in the East. The Knicks have won three in a row and six of the last eight games. "You enjoy it more when youre in (the playoff hunt), when youre fighting for something." Smith said of the win. Meanwhile, an MRI on Anthonys shoulder revealed a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. The injury will not require surgery and he will be evaluated in a month. This could be Anthonys last season with the Knicks and he is a pending free agent. He will miss the playoffs for the first time in his career and averaged 27.4 ppg this season. Anthony could opt out of his contract this summer and test free agency. The Knicks, of course, hope to make some changes with Phil Jackson as the new team president and that could mean the departure of head coach Mike Woodson. Stoudemire is expected to sit Wednesdays game for the Knicks, who have an 18-22 record at home and will not participate in the postseason for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. Toronto is 2-1 against New York this season and won the first meeting at Madison Square Garden 95-83 on Dec. 27. These two Atlantic Division inhabitants have split the last 10 games. Lowry is averaging 24.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games against the Knicks this season. ' ' '