This season there are multiple players who are just a season's worth of homers away from some of the largest slugging milestones. Last season we saw Gary Sheffield join the illustrious five hundred home run club; and this year two players have a good chance of joining the even more prestigious 600 home-run club and another has a shot at the 400 club.
The first of the three is Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez who finally got his first World Series ring last year no longer has the proverbial monkey on his back. With Mark Teixeira batting before him and Robinson Cano batting afterwards, the Yankees have a set of 3-4-5 hitters that puts fear into any pitcher.
Alex has had slow start up to this point. Now in the middle of May, Rodriguez has hit fivehomers with a .290 batting average. With his fifth home run on Monday against Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Rodriguez is now twelve home runs away from being in the 600 home run club.
The next is Albert Pujols. Last years National League Most Valuable Player has started off a little hotter than Rodriguez. Pujols is batting with a .324 average , knocking out eight home runs. Now on a rejuvenated Cardinals team, Pujols should be getting a lot more opportunities to hit homers now that he and Matt Holiday are the most feared combination in the National League.
Holiday will now be batting before Pujols in the lineup allowing them both to see better pitches. As of now Pujols is twenty six home runs away from being in the 400 home run club. Unless he gets injured for an extended amount of time, it is very likely that Pujols will surpass the 400 mark.
Lastly is Jim Thome. Thome ended last season as a member of the Chicago White Sox with 564 total homers. This year has hit five home runs as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Thome who is mainly used as a designated hitter or pinch hitter is batting with a .253 average in 75 at bats. Thome currently has 569 career home runs, but judging by the way he is being used in the lineup by the Twins, he would need to get hot, and stay hot for the rest of the season.
Look out for these players in the coming weeks and months as they try to make baseball history, for some it's a stretch to get their milestone but for others it is right in front of them.
Thanks to Sam Blum for assistance with article.
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