Batter Up: 500 Home Run Club Trivia Quiz

Bonds surpassed Henry Aaron's all-time home run record on August 7, 2007 with his 756th home run. He went on to hit six more before the season ended, which turned out to be his final season. Bonds was the first player to win seven MVP awards, and broke Mark McGwire's single season home run record in 2001 with 73 home runs.

He finished his career with the most walks of all time with 2,558.

Aaron hit his 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth's record on April 8, 1974. He retired after the 1976 season with several other major league records, including 2,297 runs batted in (RBI), and total bases with 6,856. His 3,771 hits was a National League Record.

Another interesting fact is that despite hitting so many home runs, he never hit 50 home runs in a single season -- 47 was his career high (hit in 1971).

Babe Ruth led the American League in home runs a staggering twelve times during his career. Not bad for someone who started his career as a pitcher! He had four seasons of at least 50 home runs, including 60 homers in 1927, which was the major league record for 34 years until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Ruth still holds a seemingly unbreakable record for career slugging percentage (1914-1935), an astounding .6897, which is 55.9 points ahead of Ted Williams who is second with .6338 (1939-1960), which is also seemingly unbreakable.

Pujols was a sensational hitter ever since he broke in to the big leagues in 2001 when he won the Rookie of the Year Award. He was nicknamed the "Machine" because of his year by year prolific consistency in his days with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he won three National League MVP awards.

He left St. Louis for the LA Angels after the 2011 season when he became a free agent, and was gone for ten seasons. He returned to the Cardinals for one final season in 2022, 21 home runs shy of 700. Pujols hit 24 to eclipse the 700 barrier, becoming the fourth player in history to reach 700 home runs (after Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds).

Griffey was one of baseball's most popular and well known players in the 1990s, a decade that saw him hit 382 home runs, including back to back seasons in 1997 and '98 with 56 home runs. By the time he turned 30 years of age in 1999, Griffey had 398 home runs, and was considered by many at the time to make a serious run at the all time record.

Injuries and father time caught up with him, as he would hit 232 home runs for the remainder of his career (1989-2010) for a total of 630, more than 130 homers short of the record. Griffey won the 1997 American League MVP, and was a recipient of ten Gold Glove awards.

With a career that coincided with the careers of Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, the great Frank Robinson often gets overlooked. He was a 14 time All Star, and the first player in history to win an MVP award in both the National and American leagues, including the 1966 AL MVP in his first season with the Baltimore Orioles; he won the triple crown, leading the AL with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs, and 122 RBI.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility, receiving 89.2 percent of the vote.

McGwire, also known as "Big Mac", broke Roger Maris' single season record of 61 home runs in 1998 when he hit 70; he would go on to hit 65 the following season. McGwire averaged a home run every 10.6 at bats throughout his career, which was the best of anyone in the history of baseball.

His 49 home runs as a rookie in 1987 stood for 30 years until Aaron Judge hit 52 homers in 2017. McGwire was the first player in history to have four consecutive 50 home run seasons, doing so in 1996-97-98-99.

Known affectionally as "The Mick", Mantle spent 18 seasons with the New York Yankees. He was a three time American League MVP, including his 1956 season where he won the triple crown with a .353 average, 52 home runs, and 130 RBI. He broke Babe Ruth's World Series record in 1964 for most career home runs with 18 round-trippers. Mantle retired after the 1968 season when he was just 36 years old.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1974.

Williams, or the "Splendid Splinter", was known for his exceptional batting eye. His career spanned 22 years (1939 to 1960). He had a career .344 batting average, and an incredible .482 career on base percentage, which will probably remain the all time record for many more decades (it's probably unbreakable). Williams missed three of his prime years to World War II, and then missed the vast majority of the 1952 and '53 seasons due to fighting in the Korean War.

His career stats of 521 home runs, 1,821 RBIs, and 2,021 walks would surely be much higher had it not been for his military service.

Despite hitting over 500 home runs, he never hit as much as 35 in a season (33 was his career high, in 1983). "Steady Eddie" was known for his longevity and durability, playing 21 seasons (1977 to 1997) and earning All Star selections 8 times. He played in over 3,000 games throughout his career, amassing 3,255 hits, and 1,917 RBI. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003.