How many MLB players have hit 500 career home runs?

Previously seen as a milestone that would guarantee induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the steroid era and a changed game has greatly shifted the landscape.

As a young kid in the early 2000’s who fell in love with baseball at the height of the steroid era, it was explained to me by my dad that there were a few statistical milestones that served as bona fide tickets to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

To my understanding, without exception, any player who recorded 300 wins, 3,000 hits or 500 home runs was going to be enshrined into the hall – a sentiment alluded to when Chip Caray delivered the call on Sammy Sosa’s 500th home run in April 2003.

Yet as any baseball fan acquainted with the era knows, Sammy Sosa is not in the Hall of Fame – with Cooperstown also being absent of Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, other turn of the century sluggers who were connected to performance-enhancing drugs.

While some players who were almost certainly juiced are now in the Hall of Fame (Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Jeff Bagwell), there remains a barrier for the aforementioned sluggers, three of whom served suspensions that were connected to either positive tests or, in the case of A-Rod, a larger scandal.

Although no longer the Hall of Fame guarantee it once seemed to be, 500 home runs remains a famous, highly sought-after accomplishment, one we haven’t seen reached since Miguel Cabrera hit the 500th home run of his career on Aug. 22, 2021.

With the steroid era seemingly in the rearview mirror, some potential future members of the 500 home run club will provide very interesting Hall of Fame cases – including prospective member Kyle Schwarber, a one-dimensional power hitter that is poised to push the boundaries of what is Cooperstown-worthy.

Though we’ve yet to reach the end of June, Schwarber has flown out of the gate with 29 home runs this season already, leading all of MLB while putting the left-handed slugger at 369 home runs for his career. In his age-33 season without a sign of slowing down, Schwarber appears to be a virtual lock to hit 500 home runs, with even a fair amount of potential to reach 600.

However, Kyle Schwarber’s career WAR is a solid but nowhere near HOF caliber 22.1, a mark that falls below players that are never talked about as future Hall of Famers, such as Nico Hoerner (23.3) and Brandon Nimmo (27.6). Schwarber’s WAR is dragged down by years of poor defensive play at a low value position in left field before becoming a full-time designated hitter, further decreasing whatever defensive value he could provide.

While Schwarber maintains a great on-base percentage thanks to a stellar walk rate, he remains one of the league’s most frequent strikeout victims while still mostly struggling to hit for average – making his eventual case, especially when combined with his track record of postseason heroics, an extremely intriguing one.

Currently, the injured Giancarlo Stanton is the closest active big-leaguer to 500 home runs, with the veteran slugger now sitting at 456 home runs for his career – needing just one more healthy season or two to reach the milestone.

As of 2026, the 500 home run club is 28 members deep – beginning with the 500th home run of Babe Ruth on Aug. 11, 1929. There are currently seven members of the club who have been eligible for Hall of Fame induction and have not gotten in, while two more members, Cabrera and Albert Pujols, await eligibility for their certain election to Cooperstown.

Below is a look at the 28 players that have accomplished the feat:

1. Barry Bonds: 762 home runs, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants (1986-2007)
2. Hank Aaron: 755 home runs, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers (1954-1976)
3. Babe Ruth: 714 home runs, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves (1914-1935)
4. Albert Pujols: 703 home runs, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-2022)
5. Alex Rodriguez: 696 home runs, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees (1994-2016)
6. Willie Mays: 660 home runs, New York/San Francisco Giants, New York Mets (1951-1952, 1954-1973)
7. Ken Griffey Jr.: 630 home runs, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox (1989-2010)
8. Jim Thome: 612 home runs, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles (1991-2012)
9. Sammy Sosa: 609 home runs, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles (1989-2007)
10. Frank Robinson: 586 home runs, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Cleveland Indians (1956-1976)
11. Mark McGwire: 583 home runs, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals (1986-2001)
12. Harmon Killebrew: 573 home runs, Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals (1954-1975)
13. Rafael Palmeiro: 569 home runs, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles (1986-2005)
14. Reggie Jackson: 563 home runs, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, California Angels (1967-1987)
15. Manny Ramirez: 555 home runs, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays (1993-2011)
16. Mike Schmidt: 548 home runs, Philadelphia Phillies (1972-1989)
17. David Ortiz: 541 home runs, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox (1997-2016)
18. Mickey Mantle: 536 home runs, New York Yankees (1951-1968)
19. Jimmie Foxx: 534 home runs, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies (1925-1942, 1944-1945)
20. Ted Williams: 521 home runs, Boston Red Sox (1939-1942, 1946-1960)
21. Willie McCovey: 521 home runs, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics (1959-1980)
22. Frank Thomas: 521 home runs, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays (1990-2008)
23. Eddie Mathews: 512 home runs, Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers (1952-1968)
24. Ernie Banks: 512 home runs, Chicago Cubs (1953-1971)
25. Mel Ott, 511 home runs, New York Giants (1926-1947)
26. Miguel Cabrera, 511 home runs, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers (2003-2023)
27. Gary Sheffield, 509 home runs, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets (1988-2009)
28. Eddie Murray, 504 home runs, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels (1977-1997)