On May 12, 1970 Ernie Banks became the ninth member of the 500 HR club, nearly three years earlier in 1967 another Hall of Famer joined the iconic 500 HR club. On May 14, 1967 the New York Yankees were at home getting ready to face the Baltimore Orioles. Coming into the game Mickey Mantle had three home runs on the season and sat at 499 career home runs.
Mantle was not only looking to become the sixth player to hit 500 career home runs, but also to become the first switch hitter to accomplish the milestone. Mantle was sort of an enigma when it came to great baseball players because it was thought that he could have been the greatest of all-time if not for a serious injury.
While Mantle would still become a Hall of Famer it is odd to think that he could have been even better. In high school Mantle suffered bone and cartilage injuries in both of his legs, then things got even worse in 1951. During game two of the 1951 World Series a routine fly ball was to right center field, Mantle (playing right at the time) sprinted to his right but stopped short when he realized that center fielder Joe DiMaggio called him off to make an easy catch.
This was the play that easily could have ruined Mantle’s career, while attempting to stop part of his cleat caught a piece of the underground lawn sprinkler apparatus in the outfield. This caused Mantle to be laid out on the field, eventually being carried off the field in a stretcher. It was later found out that Mantle suffered a right knee sprain that caused him to miss the remainder of the series.
The knee injury turned out to be worse than it originally looked, it required numerous surgeries and was a key component as to why Mantle never reached his expected heights.
Even with all the injury luck that Mantle dealt with, he still turned out to be one of the greatest all around players who ever played. In 18 seasons Mantle ended up with 2,415 hits, 1,509 RBIs with 16 all-star appearances and 3 MVP awards. Out of all the great numbers that Mantle had, the most impressive might have been his home run total.
Mantle would end up with 536 career home runs, the most by a switch hitter all-time, but in order to get to 536 home runs you need to get to 500 first.
1967 was Mantle’s second to last season and it was clear that he was not the same player he once was even though he still showed glimpses of greatness. Mantle came into the game against the Orioles as the second-best hitter on a lackluster Yankees team, batting .247 with a .375 OBP and a .827 OPS.
The Yankees started the game of hot against the Orioles starter Steve Barber, Barber only lasted 1/3 of an inning while giving up two hits while giving up three runs. That score would last until the sixth inning when the Orioles would take the lead with a four-run inning, the lead did not last long as the Yankees struck right back scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning.
That score would remain the same until the seventh inning, in the bottom of the inning Mantle was the third batter up to the plate. The first two batters of the inning got out and Mantle stepped up to the plate with two outs.
Mantle, batting from the left side worked the count full and then saw a changeup and blasted it over the short porch in right field.
Mantle rounded the bases with the crowd on their feet, the crowd was hoping for a curtain call, but one never came. Mantle finished the 67’ season with 22 home runs and the next season with 18 home runs, retiring as one of the greatest outfielders of all-time with 536 home runs.
19 years later in 1986 and we come to another home run milestone from another outfielder in Reggie Jackson. However, this milestone was not hitting his 500th career home run, instead it was passing the man we just talked about, Mickey Mantle.
Jackson was 40 years old and playing for the California Angels and 500 home runs was already accomplished, now it was time to work his way up on the all-time home run list.
Jackson became the 14th member of the 500-home run club on September 17, 1984, he would go on to play three more seasons, retiring after the 1987 season.
Entering the game Jackson was still a force at the plate, batting .318 with a .425 OBP and a 1.015 OPS but he was a bit of a liability in the field. Luckily the Angels played in the American League where they had a DH so they could get away with having Jackson in the lineup without having to sacrifice defense.
The Angels were playing the Boston Red Sox and the eventual Cy Young and MVP winner Roger Clemens. Clemens and the Red Sox would end up winning the game 8-5, but the history was made on the Angels side.
The Angels got off to an early start scoring three runs on Clemens in the first inning, the first two coming on the historic home run. In the bottom of the first inning Jackson came up to the plate with one runner on base, Jackson would then homer to give the Angels an early 2-0 lead while also moving into sixth place all-time on the career HR list and passing fellow Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle.
Reggie Jackson ended up playing one more season after signing a one-year contract with the Athletics and finished with 563 career home runs, sixth place at the time and now good for 14th place on the all-time list.