Not that there was any doubt about Albert Pujols reaching 500 career homers by the end of the season, but his strong start for the Angels with a league-leading six bombs puts him just two long balls shy of the magic number.
When he gets there, possibly this week, Pujols will become just the eighth player in baseball history to reach 500 career homers by age 34. Here’s the previous seven:
Alex Rodriguez 613 Sammy Sosa 539 Jimmie Foxx 527 Babe Ruth 516 Hank Aaron 510 Willie Mays 505 Ken Griffey Jr. 501
Pujols is at 498 right now, so he’ll likely surpass Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth, and there’s a decent chance he could pass Jimmie Foxx as well.
Also, just in case anyone is curious, here’s a list of the most homers by anyone after age 34:
Barry Bonds 317 Hank Aaron 245 Rafael Palmeiro 208 Andres Galarraga 199 Darrell Evans 198 Babe Ruth 198 Carlton Fisk 193
Kind of a weird list.