Today in Baseball History: Babe Ruth Becomes 1st Player to Hit 500 Home Runs

Babe Ruth established himself as baseball's home run king when he was starring for the New York Yankees nearly 100 years ago.

On Aug. 11, 1929, New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth became the first player to eclipse 500 career home runs.

Ruth was already baseball's all-time home run leader to that point, and by a comfortable margin. By the time Ruth hit his 500th homer, the next most any player had hit was Rogers Hornsby with 263.

Still, Ruth made history when he took 23-year-old Cleveland Indians pitcher Willis Hudlin deep to lead off the second inning that fateful Sunday afternoon. Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig hit a home run two innings later, but the Indians held on to win 6-5, spoiling Ruth's big day.

It took until 1940 before anyone joined Ruth in the 500 home run club, when Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx hit his just over 11 years later. There are now 28 players who have hit 500 or more home runs in their career. 

On this date in 1929, Babe Ruth becomes the first MLB player to hit 500 homers. At the end of the 1929 season he had 516 career home runs: Rogers Hornsby was 2nd with 277.

Ruth is seen here with Lou Gehrig (left) looking at the home run ball. pic.twitter.com/22nEzT38Ck

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 11, 2023

Across his first six MLB seasons as a member of the Red Sox, Ruth hit 49 home runs while also spending time as a pitcher. He exploded once he became a Yankee, though, blasting 467 home runs in the 1920s alone.

Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, an individual record that stood until Atlanta Braves outfielder Hank Aaron passed him in 1974. San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds took over as the home run king in 2007, and he still has the most at 762.

The Bambino remains the all-time leader in slugging percentage at .690, OPS at 1.164 and WAR at 182.6.

Ruth was a member of the inaugural National Baseball Hall of Fame class in 1936, getting honored alongside Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner.

The seven-time World Series champion naturally has his No. 3 jersey retired by the Yankees. The first season the Yankees even wore jersey numbers was 1929, the same year Ruth cracked 500 home runs.

94 years later, the Yankees' lineup includes outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Ruth, Judge, Stanton and former Yankees outfielder Roger Maris are the only players in MLB history to blast 59 or more home runs in a single season, excluding those who are heavily tied to steroid use such as Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

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