That was ten minutes ago, and it's already been relayed from McCoy to BTF. That's probably a little faster than when Ruth did it.

By Hal McCoy | Monday, June 9, 2008, 07:19 PM

At 7:22, on a hot Florida night

Actually, that's too fast. Hal McCoy knows too much.

Good for him. I'm still hoping he can DH somewhere and maybe get back a bit of his bat.

That was ten minutes ago, and it's already been relayed from McCoy to BTF. That's probably a little faster than when Ruth did it.

Yeah, in 1931 Hal McCoy didn't have a blog, just a column, so it would have taken most of a day for it to get to Base-Ball Primer.

Griffey joins an Elite Five with 600 or more home runs

Officially, they're "Elite Four, featuring Sammy Sosa."

Is 600 home runs really such a big deal any more?

Consider, that it took around 40 years to go from 1 600 home run hitter to 3. Now, in just the last 6 years, the number of 600 HR hitters has doubled.

Clearly, 600 Home Runs should no longer be considered a magic number, and we need to start setting the bar higher.

Frankly, I won't be impressed again until someone hits one million homeruns. In a season. While only eating vegetables and drinking water.

Not only that, but the number of 750-HR hitters has doubled in the same stretch. I'm already bored with those "750th home run" headlines.

Which one of the six was the white guy?

I bet at most just two more players join them in the next 10 years. Both are by no means guaranteed.

So I think 600 is still a big deal. Very, very impressive.

OK, maybe three guys.

Griffey hits No. 600

And if he weren't once well on pace to hit No. 800 or so, that'd probably be more exciting.

in 1931 Hal McCoy didn't have a blog, just a column, so it would have taken most of a day for it to get to Base-Ball Primer.

No hyphen, I think; Base Ball. Also, "Sawbones" McCoy would have to have fended off the accursèd Hatfields in order to get the article onto the cart along with the moonshine jugs.

Frankly, I won't be impressed again until someone hits one million homeruns. In a season. While only eating vegetables and drinking water.

Prince Fielder is trying.

I bet at most just two more players join them in the next 10 years. Both are by no means guaranteed.

You have to assume that Arod makes it easily. Manny is probably next or Thome(I imagine is a bit of a longshot, but 80 hrs for a 37 year old has to be taken seriously.) The only other slight option is Pujols I imagine and he's 300 away, so it's a pretty safe assumption on your part.

I bet at most just two more players join them in the next 10 years. Both are by no means guaranteed.

So I think 600 is still a big deal. Very, very impressive.

That's probably a good over/under mark. A Rod's a near lock. Manny's got a decent shot. Thome's a longer shot, as he's starting to look done, but it's too early to tell and he's only 81 away at age 37. He's still on pace for 31 this year which would give him 538 entering his age 38 season. And then there's Pujols, who is still less than halfway there, so a lot can happen to him. Everyone else is either to old and not close enough, or too young to get there in 10 years. Maybe Adam Dunn, but I don't think he's going to age well.

Obviously the three are Manny, Pujols and Pedroia.

If the list doesn't include those two guys, surely Griffey isn't joining the group either.

Kev, you're delusional. Bonds totally belongs in a group with Ruth, Aaron, and Mays, and he would've even if he had never stuck magic needles in his a$$.

OK, Kevin, but Ruth played in an all-white league, while Mays and Aaron played during the Greenies heyday, right? I bet they partook in the fun, if only from time to time. They shouldn't count either.

So that leaves ... Griffey! Well, unless he took illegal amphetamines as well.

Damn, we ran out of members for the club. Oh well.

600 homer club:

1)Ruth
2)Bonds
3)Mays
4)Aaron
5)Griffey
6)Sosa


The top four are almost interchangeable...

When Kevin was a child, he cut heads out of Russian history books for Stalin.

So I think 600 is still a big deal. Very, very impressive.

If you think anyone here seriously believes that 600 is not an impressive achievement, you need to send your sarcasm-meter to the shop for repairs.

Meanwhile, Kurkjian has a column on ESPN, in which he says, among other things:

Griffey is far from done as a power hitter. There are still homers to hit, and milestones to reach. He could become the third player ever, joining Ty Cobb and Rusty Staub, to hit a home run as a teenager and as a 40-year-old. He could join Ted Williams, Rickey Henderson and Willie McCovey as the only players to hit home runs in four different decades and he could become the first player to hit 300 home runs for two different teams.

Griffey at 38 is beginning to look fairly toasty. I doubt he has nearly as much left in the tank as Timmy suggests, and I will not be surprised if next year is it for him.

But I look forward to him getting at least 10 more homers, to assume his rightful place on the list.

Prince Fielder is trying.

Well, I guess french fries ARE vegetables and Mountain Dew is bound to contain many minerals (coming from mountains and all)...

Kevin, that's ridiculous. Barry's numbers happened. And they'll be in the books forever, no matter how much you and others clamor for them to be erased. And all the wins those "dirty" numbers produced will be in the books forever, too. The '89 A's and '98-'00 Yankees aren't being forced to give up their championship rings because McGwire, Canseco, Clemens, Pettite, and others were juicing.

It's one thing to say that 'roiders don't deserve to make the HOF based on character issues. But to pretend that what they did didn't even happen? Yeah, I think delusional IS the right word for it. You can't whitewash history just because you don't like the results.

If greatness is determined by how much a player contributed to their teams chances of winning, then steroid use should have NO impact whatsover on where a player ranks on the all time lists.

Here's a tougher list to rank-

500 homer club:

1- Ruth
2- Bonds
3- Mays
4- Williams
5- Aaron
6- Mantle
7- Rodriguez(could rank higher before he's done)
8- Schmidt
9- Robinson
10- Foxx
11- Ott
12- Mathews
13- Griffey
14- Thomas
15- Ramirez
16- Banks
17- Jackson
18- McGwire
19- Killebrew
20- McCovey
21- Murray
22- Palmeiro
23- Thome
24- Sosa

#26 - Sadly, Kevin, our personal make-believe books don't mean much to anyone else. And we end up looking anywhere from bitter and childish to flat-out batsh!t crazy when we insist that they should.

But I hear ya...My hometown boys - the Utah Jazz - will ALWAYS be the 1998 NBA champions in my mind. But like I said, my delusions don't (and shouldn't) mean anything to anybody else.

Booey: That's a good list. I was going to see if I could quibble about your ranking, but it's pretty much dead on for how I'd do it. Maybe fiddle with Foxx/Ott/Mathews/Griffey, but I can't say why a different order would be better than the one you listed.

It's not just that players weren't allowed to guard Jordan without being called for a foul, it's that Jordan himself was allowed to shove Bryon Russell out of the way to get open for his "amazing" game winner. It's about the three pointer they took away from Howard Eisley even though the replay showed it was already halfway to the basket before the shot clock expired, or the basket they gave Ron Harper that clearly WAS after the shot clock. That's a five point swing in shot clock miscalls that all went the Bulls way - in a one point game. It just seems that no matter what the Jazz did, they weren't going to be allowed to win that game. And a small part of me will always be dead inside because of it...

The NBA is notorious for this kind of bullsh!t. The 2000 Blazers and 2002 Kings were flat out raped in the conference finals vs the Lakers.

And yes, I'm enjoying very much the beat-down KG and company are raining down upon Bryant and the Lakeshow. Kobe has got to be the worst teammate of any star player in history...

Game 3 -

Much as I want the Celts to win, I think the Lakers chances of taking game 3 is somewhere around 90%. This is the dream matchup the league has been waiting for for 20 years - they're not going to allow a one sided series.

600 is still a heck of an accomplishment, but it feels somewhat diminished. 600 as the new 500, as it were.

"The Kid" we used to call him.
Not anymore.
He's become a man.

My only definite quibble with the list is to swap Thome and Palmeiro.

Maybe kevin can start his own book blog where he explains how many runs are saved by having the shortstop cover on all steal attempts.

If you think anyone here seriously believes that 600 is not an impressive achievement, you need to send your sarcasm-meter to the shop for repairs.

Heh. Indeed. Which is why if I'm not daily posting here at BTF, I shouldn't post at all, as I hate being off my game. So ... carry on.

I see you haven't found yours yet.

What a sweet swing. I agree with Srul that the future isn't bright for Junior but if he could be happy being a DH, I could see a few more years and him getting close to 700. It'll take a different mindset (he's never seemed to want to DH - don't blame him) and some health. The latter is probably the bigger issue.

By the way, why does Junior get no criticism for watching homers? He's always done it and, while I don't mind it, no one who gripes about, say, Manny, seems to care.

So it is okay to cheer for Griffey?

The way the media and public seem to randomly choose who deserves accolades and who doesn't based onidle speculation and all that...