Eddie Murray (504 home runs)
While 400 home runs from a switch hitter has been rare, Eddie Murray carries the distinction of being one of only two to reach 500. In 21 seasons, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, Murray concluded his career with 504 longballs, one of only 27 men to accomplish the feat in Major League history.
Throughout the first 17 years of his career, Murray was as dependable and productive as anyone in baseball. With the exception of the strike-shortened 1981 season, the man nicknamed “Steady Eddie” never played in fewer than 137 games, and averaged 26 homers a year. He even impressively averaged 20 per year in his age 38, 39, and 40 seasons.
The Los Angeles native who came up with the O’s in 1977, hit 362 home runs as a lefty and 142 as a righty, won Rookie of the Year, made eight all-star teams, won three silver sluggers, sits 10th all-time with 1,917 RBIs, and is one of just five players to have membership in both the 500 home run club and the 3,000 hits club.
Murray, who was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2003, hit his 400th home run early in 1992 as a member of the New York Mets, and, fittingly, got his 500th as a member of the Orioles in 1996, one year to the day that his longtime teammate Cal Ripken, Jr. had broken Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record.
Next: The switch hitting home run king.