MLB: Will We Ever See Another Player Reach 500 Home Runs?

The steroid era took some of the shine off the 500 home run club, but everyone still digs the longball. Which current MLB players have a chance at reaching the vaunted mark?

Since Babe Ruth made the permanent switch from pitching to the outfield and started launching baseballs out of stadiums, the home run has been the most iconic part of the game. Sluggers were and are superheroes, marvels of muscle, larger than life.

In the context of the steroid era, that takes on a different meaning, as there are detractors that speak of asterisks and the soiling of the sanctity of the 500 home run club. Twelve of the club’s 27 members have joined since 1999, and include the suspicious names every baseball fan has come to know so well. Bonds, Rodriguez, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro. Whether the diminishing of the club is right or not is a debate for another time, and despite the critics, the 500 homer mark is still the level that every power hitter aspires to.

While the longball is down across the board in Major League Baseball today, there are still plenty of players that fans line up to see in the hopes they will crush a ball beyond that distance that seems reasonable. Some of those sluggers have a chance of reaching 500 home runs in their careers and joining the likes of Ruth, Mays, Mantle and Aaron.

Using the Bill James Favorite Toy formula, we take a look at the players in the big leagues right now who at the very least stand a shot at reaching the milestone. No one is a sure thing, and predictions can prove inaccurate, but based purely on the numbers, the 500 home run club should have another member or two (or more) by the end of the decade.

Next: The future is now.