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. Arizona Coyotes Gear.com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated. Coyotes Jerseys 2020. Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/. - Mark Sanchez found out the New York Jets had acquired Tim Tebow on a conference call with team management. Coyotes Jerseys 2021.NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. Coyotes Jerseys China. They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted.The Winnipeg Jets push for better playoff positioning in the Western Conference stalled in Pennsylvania. A matchup with Dallas would appear to give them a good chance to get back on track, though theyll be hosting an increasing desperate Stars team Saturday night. Winnipeg (26-16-8) brought a five-game winning streak and seven-game run with at least one point into its Keystone State road trip, but allowed its largest two-game goal total of the season in getting outscored 10-5 in losses to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Jets gave up three straight goals over the final 40 minutes after tying the game in the first period of a 5-2 defeat to the Flyers on Thursday. There are pieces of our game that arent really good right now, coach Paul Maurice said. One of them is the power play, which has gone 2 for 16 over the past six games. Winnipeg did get Mathieu Perreaults goal with the man advantage Thursday to tie it at 2, but the Jets failed on four other opportunities and didnt earn any power plays in a 5-3 loss to the Penguins on Tuesday. The Jets had given up eight goals in the previous five games and are seventh in the league with 2.46 allowed per contest. The lackluster losses have stopped Winnipegs rise in the playoff race. The Jets hold a five-point lead for the first wild-card spot but missed a chance to put pressure on St. Louis and Chicago for one of the automatic berths in the Central Division. You cant wait until late March to get going. Weve got to get some wins, said Perreault, who scored twice. Beginning a busy stretch - Winnipeg plays at Calgary on Monday and Vancouver on Tuesday - the Jets will be looking for their third win in as many matchups with the Stars this season. The most recent was Jan. 15 at Dallas, as Ondrej Pavelec stopped 46 shots and all 22 he faced in the second period for a 2-1 victory. Winnipeg held on despite being outshot 38-11 in the final 40 minutes. It was a costly regulation defeat for the Stars (22-19-7), who trail the Flames by four points for the second wild card and also need to pass Los Angeles while holding off Colorado and Minnesota.dddddddddddd Dallas got a much-needed victory Thursday, avoiding a third straight loss by winning 6-3 at Ottawa. The Stars scored twice on the power play and had two short-handed empty-net goals in the final minute of the game to seal it after nearly blowing a 3-0 first-period lead. We showed good resiliency, doesnt matter on the road as long as you find a way to get the win, center Jason Spezza said. Jamie Benn scored twice and Trevor Daley had a goal and two assists for Dallas, which registered 41 shots on goal and has averaged nearly 38 in a six-game stretch that began against the Jets. The Stars have gone 3 for 8 on the power play in the last two games after going 3 for 37 over the previous eight. Weve worked on the power play a lot. We havent been rewarded ... with it and tonight we were, Spezza said. Dallas Kari Lehtonen is 4-1-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average in six career starts against Winnipeg. Pavelec has allowed one goal in two of his last three starts in this series, but he has a 3.65 GAA in seven total matchups. Hes allowed exactly four goals in five of his last seven starts overall. Dallas left wing Erik Cole remains day to day with a lower body injury. Projected Jets Lines Forwards Ladd - Little - Wheeler Perreault - Scheifele - Frolik Kane - Lowry - Thorburn Galiardi - Slater - Peluso Defence Byfuglien - Enstrom Bogosian - Chiarot Trouba - Stuart Goaltenders Hutchinson (starts) Pavelec Projected Stars Lines Forwards Benn - Seguin - Eaves Horcoff - Spezza - Hemsky Roussel - Eakin - Garbutt Moen - Fiddler - Sceviour Defence Goligoski - Klingberg Benn - Demers Schlemko - Daley Goaltenders Lehtonen (starts) Lindback Wholesale Jerseys ' ' ' 

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