500 vs. 300

500 Home Runs & 300 Wins, the two biggest benchmarks a hitter or pitcher can have in their career. I think they have a greater signifigance than the 3000 hit club, just simply because the hitters who get to 500 homeruns tend to have a greater impact all around, than the one's who are purely 3000 hit club guys. Don't get me wrong, 3000 hits is a definite ticket into the hall of fame, but 500 home runs is sexy, or is it? With so many current sluggers hitting so many home runs (BALCO aided or not) the nubmer isn't what it used to be. The same way 50 home runs isn't as shocking as it was a decade ago, 500 home runs has almost become insignificant. Is 600 the new 500? Probably, since for most player, to hit that extra 100 home runs, it would mean sustaining a high level of excellence until they are close to 40, as we have seen is doable, but not at the same rate (BALCO Bonds being the obvious exception). Recently, a close friend offered another solution, suggest that 2000 (HR + RBI) should be the key number, and I say why not? We love OPS, so why not start combining categories that make sense. What makes the 500 mark even more laughable as assurance into the hall of fame is two very recent players who came very close to 500 HR, have no business being in the hall of fame, and never will be - Jose Canseco & Fred McGriff. One of the Bash Brothers, and the Crime Dog had 462 & 493 homers respectively.

In contrast to the 500 Homers, 300 Wins may become that insurmountable number that only the very elite that come along once or twice a decade reach. With this generation of pitch counts, many more powerful lineups (and smaller parks) and the stress and importance of having a bullpen good pitchers in less, and seem to not last as long as they once did. We may see this generation of pitchers automatically considered with 200 wins. 250 wins could mean a 1st ballot hall of fame that leaves no doubt, and 300 being reserved for the elite. Of the 22 current players in the 300 win club, only 8 have been since 1982, and only 10 total since 1961. By the way, in case you were curious, three players with 300 wins are Pud Galvin, Kid Nichols and Old Hoss Radbourn. Gotta love the beginning of the 20th century baseball! Heck, even Mel Stottlemyre agrees with me:

"Pitching has become tougher and more demanding and it's harder to throw consistently for as long a period as it would take to win three-hundred (300) games. It would take a tremendous amount of dedication to do that." - Former Pitcher & New York Yankees Pitching Coach Mel Stottlemyre


So basically when Tom Glavine and maybe Randy Johnson get 300 wins in the next couple of years, savor it, cause you may only see it once or twice more in the next 10-15 years.