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. [url=http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/Blue-Jays-Marcus-Stroman-Ki ds-Jersey/

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. Marcus Stroman Jersey . 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. Jose Bautista Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Roy Halladay Jersey . -- Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didnt realize he had broken the rules. http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/Blue-Jays-Yangervis-Solarte-Kids-Jersey/ . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events.CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers have cleared a path for LeBron James to return to Cleveland. Theyve made their moves. Theyre just waiting for him to make his. The Cavs created enough salary-cap space to offer the superstar free agent a maximum contract on Wednesday agreeing to trade guard Jarrett Jack, swingman Sergey Karasev and centre Tyler Zeller in a three-team deal with Brooklyn and Boston, a person familiar with the deals told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because teams are not permitted to discuss trades until the leagues moratorium ends Thursday. The manoeuvring is designed to open room under the salary cap so they can re-sign the Akron-born James, the four-time league MVP and most sought-after player on the market. With open roster spots, Cleveland isnt done. Not long after making the trade with the Celtics and Nets, the Cavs had exploratory discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves about a possible trade for three-time All-Star Kevin Love -- if James does return to Cleveland, said a person with knowledge of the inquiry. The Timberwolves would be looking for No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins to be part of any potential package from Cleveland in order to consider parting with Love if the talks were to become more serious, the person said, speaking with the AP on condition of anonymity because neither team publicly announced the conversation. Whatever the Cavs next move is -- with or without James -- they could package together their other assets, including future first-round picks, to make a run at other All-Star players. Meanwhile, James had his meeting in Las Vegas with Miami president Pat Riley. James, his agent Rich Paul, Riley and Heat executive Andy Elisburg were at the meeting, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions told The AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side publicly announced who would be attending the meeting or when it would take place. James has not made a decision and will not make any announcements before Thursday, the person said. With nothing finalized, LeBronathon 2014 will last at least one more day with the NBA --- and fans in Miami and Cleveland -- on edge. Randal Grichuk Jersey. And as he takes fans on another summer thrill ride, James has one more offer to consider in deciding where to play next season: Ohios Cedar Point amusement park is promising to rename one of its roller coasters "King James" if he returns home to play for the Cavs. A park spokesman says its a legitimate offer that originated with the CEO. Cedar Point sent out a tweet with the proposal on Wednesday, telling James, who has visited the park in Sandusky, Ohio, many times, the ball was "in his court." In the three-team trade the Cavs pulled off earlier Wednesday, Cleveland will receive guard Marcus Thornton from the Nets and send him, Zeller and a future first-round pick to the Celtics. Also, the Cavs are trading Jack and Karasev to the Nets. Jack, who signed with Cleveland as a free agent last season, was scheduled to make $6.3 million, Zeller will make $1.6 million and Karasev $1.4 million. In trading those salaries, the Cavs have enough to give James a maximum, $20.7 million contract -- if he decides to sign with Cleveland. James played his first seven seasons with the Cavs before leaving as a free agent in 2010, and its apparent the team is doing everything it can to bring him back. Under NBA rules, teams must abide by a salary cap set by the league. If the combined salaries of the teams roster surpasses the cap, teams are forced to a pay additional taxes. Last season, the salary cap was approximately $59 million, and the league announced Wednesday that it will increase 7.5 per cent to an all-time high of $63.065 million for the 2014-15 season. The tax level -- the point at which a team is penalized for exceeding the salary cap -- for next season has increased by 7.1 per cent to $76.829 million. ESPN first reported details of the three-team trade. Jacks first season with Cleveland didnt go as he or the Cavs had hoped. He signed a four-year, $25 million deal last July after playing in Golden State. The Cavs counted on him being a leader for their young team, but it didnt work out as Cleveland finished 33-49, missed the playoffs and fired coach Mike Brown. 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