Albert Pujols hits home run No. 599, sits on the brink of history

Mike Oz

There’s a bit of baseball history that will be made soon and it almost feels like nobody is talking about it.

It doesn’t involve Bryce Harper or the unwritten rules or a divisive controversy, so Albert Pujols’ pursuit of 600 homers actually feels like it’s happening a bit under the radar. As under the radar as joining the 600 Home Run Club can happen, anyway.

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Pujols hit homer No. 599 on Tuesday night in the Los Angeles Angels’ 9-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. It was a three-run homer that came off Bartolo Colon in the third inning and put the Angels up 3-2.

Albert Pujols celebrates homer No. 599. (AP)
Albert Pujols celebrates homer No. 599. (AP)

Pujols had a few more chances to swing for 600, as he came to bat three more times in the game. It didn’t happen and, thus, Pujols sits on the brink of joining a very elite group in baseball history.

The 600 Homer Club includes eight other legends and that’s it.

• Barry Bonds (762)
• Hank Aaron (755)
• Babe Ruth (714)
• Alex Rodriguez (696)
• Willie Mays (660)
• Ken Griffey Jr. (630)
• Jim Thome (612)
• Sammy Sosa (609)

That’s quite a group. And we might not see anyone else join it for a while. After Pujols, the next active players on the all-time homer list are Miguel Cabrera (451) and Adrian Beltre (445) — but they still have to get into the 500-homer club first.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!