New York Yankees Mickey Mantle Hits 500th Home Run

The milestone may not have the same luster as it did in years past, but 500 home runs used to be quite the impressive total. On this day in 1967, New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle joined that exclusive club.

When one thinks back to the greatest players in baseball history, New York Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle comes to mind. A perfect blend of power and speed, Mantle also suffered through a variety of injuries that took away some of his ability, but still had quite the impressive career.

By 1967, Mantle was a shell of his former self. His speed was gone, and while he still could hit for a bit of power, he just was not the same threat in the batter’s box that he had been over the past decade. Yet, there were occasional flashes of his former greatness, and while the home runs did not go for quite the same distance any longer, Mantle could still hit for power.

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Those echoes to the past were evident on this day in 1967. Facing the Baltimore Orioles, Mantle took reliever Stu Miller deep in the bottom of the seventh inning, hitting his 500th home run and giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead. That home run, as it turned out, would prove to be the game winning run, as the Yankees held on to take the game 6-5.

With the blast, Mantle joined Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Mel Ott as the only players with 500 home runs. It would also turn out to be one of the few highlights of his season, as Mantle produced a .245/.391/.434 batting line. He did make the All-Star Game that year, but that was more on the basis of his career marks than his actual performance that year.

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Mickey Mantle was not the same player any longer in 1967, but on this day, he became the sixth player to hit 500 career home runs, further cementing his status as one of the best players in baseball history.