Vorstellungen » or five years of 13 or 14 wins. On The M

When Albert Pujols slugged his 499th and 500th home runs the other night at Washington, he became the 51st player in history to reach that magic figure that in most cases guarantees a player a spot in the Hall of Fame. I dont consider myself to be that old, but I was amazed when I looked at the all-time home run list and realized I had seen 47 of the 51, either in person or on live TV. The ones I wasnt born early enough to see included Mel Ott, number 23 on the list with 511, number 18 Ted Williams at 521, number 17 Jimmie Foxx at 534 and of course the immortal Babe Ruth at number 3 with 714. Of those four, I was even fortunate enough to have seen Williams in person when he and Joe DiMaggio appeared at the 1991 All-Star Game in Toronto. I guess my point is home run hitting beyond a select few didnt really begin to take off until the likes of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider took centre stage in the 1950s and then took another quantum leap in the steroid era that began in the late 80s. Two of the greatest hitters of all-time, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, hit 103 and 101 home runs respectively in careers that lasted over 20 years apiece. Funny that Wally Pipp, the man Lou Gehrig replaced at first base with the Yankees, hit 90 homers in the Majors. Gehrig, who set the longest consecutive games played streak (until it was surpassed by Cal Ripken Jr.) went on to hit 493 home runs. Pujols was the first player in five years to reach the 500 figure and that made me wonder, who might be next? Then I wondered if Pujols could possibly be the last. I wont likely live long enough to answer that question, but there are still a couple of players who have a shot in the next two or three years if they stick around that long. Adam Dunn, the White Sox prodigious slugger, should reach 500. Hes only 34 and just hit his 445th homer, a monster shot over the scoreboard at Comerica Park this week. Dunn made noises about retiring last season, when the White Sox kept piling up loss after loss. But Chicagos decent start this year and the lure of 500 will probably keep him around for a couple of more seasons. David Ortiz, the face of the Red Sox, is four years older at 38, but he only needs 65 more dingers to reach 500. Hes got a shot. The next group of three falls into the unlikely category. Clevelands Jason Giambi has 438 homers, but hes 43 years old. Dunns White Sox teammate Paul Konerko has 434 but isnt playing much these days and intends to retire at the end of the season. The Yankees Alfonso Soriano like Konerko is 38, but only has 410. He would have to hit 40-45 this year to have a chance. The funny thing is of those five players only Ortiz would appear to have a shot at the Hall of Fame. Konerko is a definite maybe, but the steroid connection could keep Giambi out. Since Dunn was so one dimensional, he could become the first to hit 500 homers who wont make it to Cooperstown. Further down the list you have the Rangers 35-year-old third baseman Adrian Beltre who was 376 homers. It could be a stretch for him considering his age and the fact he has already been on the disabled list this season. Tigers mega-star Miguel Cabrera may take another three or four years, but should crack 500. He has 367 now and is only 31. The Yankees Carlos Beltran is only four homers behind "Miggy" at 363, but he is 37. Prince Fielder, who appeared to be a lock a couple of years ago, is sitting on 287 at age 30. Seven more years averaging 30 homers a season and hed have a chance. Incidently, the top active Blue Jays home run hitter is Jose Bautista at 217, followed by Edwin Encarnacion at 196. If I had to bet, Id say Cabrera and Dunn will be the only two to reach 500 in the next two to four years. It could be a long wait, if ever, before it happens again after that. One last note on the chase for 500 homers. Phillies slugging first baseman Ryan Howard reached 100 homers quicker than anyone in history in 2007. Then in 2009 he arrived at 200 faster than anybody else. Now into his fifth season since then, thanks in large part to injuries, his pace has dropped off and hes hit 316 homers. At 34, 500 for Ryan Howard is little more than a dream. The odds of any of us seeing another 300-game winning pitcher are even more remote. The top active pitcher right now is Yankees lefty C.C. Sabathia at 208. Hes 33, but more than that, hes not quite the dominating pitcher he was two years ago and had elbow concerns last year. The Giants Tim Hudson is right behind him at 207 victories, but hes 38. After those two you dip down to the ageless Bartolo Colon of the Mets with 191 victories. The fourth-highest active pitcher in terms of victories is Blue Jays wily veteran lefty Mark Buehrle. At 35, he has 190 victories against 142 losses with a 3.81 ERA. For Hall of Fame voters, 250 victories could become the new 300 in the very near future. Considering his iron man innings stats Buehrle could at least bump himself into the Cooperstown conversation, with another four or five years of 13 or 14 wins. On The Mark Speaking of Buehrle, he takes his 4-0 record into a vital three-game set with Boston this weekend at Rogers Centre. Buehrle will be pitching in the series opener on Friday night against Bosox righty Jake Peavy. The Jays have slipped back to .500 at 11-11 after giving up solid leads at home in their last two games and getting shellacked by Baltimore. The Jays have now fallen to 4-5 at home and 6-7 against the AL East. This three-game set against Boston pretty well completes the first 25 per cent segment against the East. Right now Toronto is sitting in third place, one game up on Tampa Bay and one-and-a-half up on last place Boston. At the very least the Blue Jays need to take two out of three to stop the bleeding before they hit the road for Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Getting swept by Boston could drop the Jays into the cellar and start the same snowball rolling that saw them tumble to 73 and 74 wins the last two seasons. Bennie Logan Jersey . "If we only consider this season," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, "there is just one club in Manchester -- and its ours. Rashaan Evans Titans Jersey . This is not some token job for a prominent, popular former player. All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said. http://www.titansauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-will-compton-jersey.html .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Luke Stocker Titans Jersey . Nikolai Khabibulin was yanked in the second period, and the Ottawa Senators looked ready to put away a big road win. Will Compton Jersey . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.Steve Bruce continued his unbeaten run with Aston Villa, but they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Amex in the Sky Bet Championship. Nathan Baker headed Villa in front after 20 minutes on Friday night before the Seagulls pulled level through a fine Glenn Murray effort on the stroke of half-time.Brighton may have dominated possession on the night, but it was Villa who had the of the better chances. Unfortunately for the away fans, though, they could not find another breakthrough and Bruce added a third draw to his three wins from six games in charge. Baker (left) scored with a header after 20 minutes Brighton, meanwhile, closed the gap on league leaders Newcastle, but the Magpies could extend the gap to five points when they play away at Leeds on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Brighton started the better of the two sides, but it was Villa who opened the scoring thanks to Bakers header with the first real chance of the game after 20 minutes.Villa had not really got forward until they won a free-kick 35 yards out, and Albert Adomahs floated ball in found the head of Baker, who rose highest in the area to glance the ball past David Stockdale. Glenn Murray equalised from the edge of the area The home side continued to push forward but struggled to get their front two of Murray and Sam Baldock into the game until the 44th minute when the pair combined to devastating effect.First, Murray received the ball from Steve Sidwell then played a lovely one-two with Baldock before firing into the bottom corner with a fierce low strike from the edge of the area for his 150th league goal. The second half started at breakneck pace as both sides pushed for the next goal, and it was Murray who went closest just after the hour, heading narrowly over the bar for Brighton after Baldock had lifted the ball into his path.Villa boss Bruce threw on Jack Grealish midway through the second half and the young midfielder made an immediate impact as his quality on the ball helped the away side to dominate. Shane Duffy is challenged by Gabriel Agbonlahor In a period of pressure, Grealish saw two shots from the edge of the areaa deflected narrowly wide, while Jonathan Kodjia rattled the crossbar with one header before forcing a fine fingertip save from David Stockdale with another.ddddddddddddBrighton substitute Jamie Murphy then forced a fine save from Pierluigi Gollini late on, but it was Villa who always looked the more likely to score again.Chris Hughtons side held on, though, and Villa missed their chance to climb into the top half of the table, sitting in 13th ahead of the rest of the weekends action. Brighton manager Chris Hughton claims he was happy to claim a draw against Aston Villa given the quality that Steve Bruces side possesses Brighton boss Chris Hughton:I thought we were very unfortunate to go 1-0 down when we did. We were up against a side that were very compact and pressed the ball, but didnt really have a goal threat in that first half period [before they scored]. It was very against the run of play.But as the game grew on they showed their quality and it probably got to the stage at 1-1 where I was reasonably happy with a draw. Theyre a very good side and have players who have come in for big fees to play in the Premier League, thats what we were up against.They showed what a big threat they are and why theyll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce:Its the best weve played in the second half because to come here is never going to be easy, [Brighton] are a very good side who have been playing very, very well.Were a bit disappointed we didnt see it out until half-time, but the way we responded in the second half, I can only congratulate them on a really good performance. With a little bit more luck maybe we could have gone away with all three.Weve worked meticulously on the shape and organisation, and with the flair players weve got were always likely to score a goal, and touch wood at the moment its going okay.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '