I was there for Reggies. Was working PD security at that game. Young kid ended up with the ball. We escorted him and his Dad downstairs to the locker room after the game. He as so excited to meet Reggie. He gave him the ball and Reggie gave that kid everything under the sun with his personal signature on it. Took photos and he signed and sent them to him too. That ball meant a lot to Reggie.
I have a few friends who got to meet Reggie Jackson, and they said he was one of the classiest athletes you could ever meet. That’s really cool that he did that for the young man!
Yeah, but the video doesn't show Schmidt's childlike enthusiasm after hitting the home run. There are plenty of easily accessible videos of this event where you can see Schmidt going down firstbase line all giddy. Its great. Its too bad this video didn't offer that.
It's a tragic shame that Lou Gehrig fell just short of 500 home runs and 2000 RBIs due to a terrible illness that there's still no cure or really effective treatment for robbing him of his skills. It's too bad that a classy ballplayer in Fred McGriff also fell just short. That 1994 baseball strike ended up costing him the seven more home runs he needed to get to 500.
@@mramisuzuki6962 By the "norms", Gehrig should have played until about 1943 and hit perhaps 600 HR. Both a tragedy and travesty. Of course, Ted Williams should have been in the 700 range. DiMaggio in the 400's. All the what ifs! "What if" Babe Ruth hadn't wasted 5 or 6 years .... pitching and swinging at a dead ball?
@@brendanjobe6895Foxx also would had probably high 600's if not for problems after about 33 years old......If Kiner doesnt fuck up his hips he may of hit over 750.....Lotta wild stuff coulda happened
Junior has the most beautiful swing ever. My brother is a lefty and worshipped him. He even did that little jump at the end of the swing that Junior did. haha
Very fun video. I was at spring training in 1987 when Schmidt was sitting at 495 home runs, I was 15. I was trying to get autographs when Schmidt ran by after warm-ups. He clearly did not want to sign. The 40-45 year-old guy right in front of me yells "Hey Schmiddy! 500 ball here!" It was in a zip-lock bag. Schmidt does a 180 and closely examines the ball, and signs it without saying a word (no other signings). I asked the guy if I could hold the ball...and there it was, in my fingers (on the seams. There was Ruth, Aaron, Williams, Mays, all of them, even Mel Ott. I absolutely stressed out that season, hoping that nothing would happen to Schmidt that he wouldn't get 5 more home runs and "ruin the ball". I wrote to him via the Phillies mid-season about that, and he sent me back a very kind letter that is sitting in a binder 20 feet away from me right now. That ball has to still exist, but I can't imagine what it would look like now. It was a thrill to hold it.
I love the game of baseball when I look back at these classic games. I go back to my time as a young man and watch a baseball game with my Dad. We both could spend hours watching and hearing my Dad, giving his point of view as if he were a manager and talking about strategy. Thank you, baseball, for giving the best memories that live always in me.
Griffey Jr had the sweetest swing of all with the bat stroke remaining through the strike zone the longest. Should've hit 800 at least if he would have as stayed at the Kingdome. Left with 400 wasn't 30..
Well thats a thought except the Mariners were already in Safeco before Griffey left to play for the Reds. To back you up though, had it not been for injuries, Griffey could have beat out Bonds.
I think that Schmidt is one of the most underrated power hitters in the history of the game. His power was deceptive, and I loved that he got the green light on 3-0 (or just said to hell with it) to hit his 500th.
My wife, daughter, and I, were there for Thome’s. It was Jim Thome, bobble head day too. The Angels had a young pitcher from my hometown come in as a middle reliever too. Perfect fall day for a baseball game.
The announcer for Eddie Murray's 500th home run was Hall of Famer George Kell for the visiting Detroit Tigers, and you can also hear a moment of celebration by his broadcast partner, Hall of Famer Al Kaline.
Yeah I noticed that. I mean he’s not even that old at that point and it’s not like he was playing football for years getting hit by 250 pd linebackers instead he was just playing baseball so kinda puzzling. I don’t know his entire history but I was taken aback at that image.
@@averydaymond1560 I noticed it too. Staying injury-free was part of Aaron's secret. Don't waste six years playing with a "dead" ball was another. Don't ever pitch: start out playing every day was another.
Just imagine if Ken Griffey Jr and Frank Thomas or Albert Pujols didn’t get injured what there home runs totals would be probably high sevens or eight hundred who knows
Thank you for such a nice video. This was baseball the way it was meant to be played. I really miss those days. No bat flipping, no standing at the plate to admire the flight of the ball. No showboating or other kinds of hey-everyone-look-at-me nonsense.
@@aaronaigner3481so you hate the 80’s,90’s and 00’s players because according to players 80-90% were on something. It’s the hall of fame not the hall of morality. And in an era of everyone juicing these guys were better than them. And the naivety to think guys today aren’t doing something that will be considered cheating in the future is laughable.
"Sammy punches his ticket to Cooperstown!" Baseball HoF committee: "Hold our collective beers. & keep holding them for any1 who's got an asterisk in this vid."
What's amazing is how special that 500 club is because of how few players have joined that club over how many years and number of players that have come through the league. Thank you for an awesome video like this.
Just goes to show the difference in pitching speeds in Foxx's day until now, when almost every player sets up as far back in the box as they can, to maximize the amount of time they can see the ball. I always wonder what someone like Justin Verlander's career numbers would look like if he were plopped in the 30s/40s, especially with the raised mound. He'd be practically unhittable probably haha
They are both back to form thus far this season, will take longer for Trout, maybe 3-4 seasons (barring injury) but they are definitely both injury prone. Trout still needs 24 for 400. As for Stanton, he's hit 95 Homers the last 3 seasons (including the 5 this year), and is still 93 away. They both should get there but it may be painful......
If Griffey had not been injured so much he would have been the all-time leader. I saw him hit his 450th Home run in Cincinnati in 2001. He didn’t hit number 500 until three years later
Really don’t want to come off as an English teacher but Eddie Mathews is spelled with one T. You got a sub out of me though, you have unique baseball compilations and I’m all here for it. Hope you’re having a good day man
Don't worry about it..... Its youtube. No need to proofread or bother with an editing process. Just pile up some videos and numbers and throw it out there. Most of the audience doesn't know any different anyway. Why should quality of content or trade be a burden to bear?
That was one of the coolest videos I have ever seen, and there are a lot of great baseball videos on RU-vid. Thank you for this. Especially the old footage of Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, etc. I've never seen those clips. Super cool.
Crazy how Eddie Murray hit his 500th home run in Camden Yards in 1986 considering Camden Yards didn’t open until 1992. TL;DR Eddie Murray did it in 1996
Harry Kalas got to call both Eddie Matthews and Mike Schmidt's 500th homeruns. Matthews hit his when he was with the Astros and Harry was the Astros announcer at the time. He joined the Phillies in 1971.
As a Twins fan, I kept expecting him to hit at least 25 home runs a season, but the highest in his 6- year stint with Minnesota was 20. Either the Red Sox had an amazing batting coach, or your statement is true.
That's what happens when you're very well liked by the media. They absolutely drooled over Big Papi. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum are guys like Curt Schilling, who will never even sniff the HOF because of how vilified he is by the media (rightfully so imo).
Bruce Smith is my all time favorite football player and papi is all time favorite baseball player since he did a dinger right at me at Fenway. Didn’t realize either did steroids
Cardinal fans are classy like that. they do that, heck, even if one happens to get traded off the team, they will pull for them, especially the ones well established. take when Albert was with our angels for a while, returned to his home in an angels uniform, did his thing, and they gave the man a standing ovation. same thing for if and when a player returns. that first return game home is just the icing on top.
I no joke, started to tear up n cry. @10:03. Im 42, and man. There was Michael Jordan, But! There was also Ken Griffey Jr! In my day. I played both basketball n baseball too.
That footage is not of Ruth's 500th home run. On August 11, 1929 Cincinnati was playing New York, not Boston. Pittsburgh was playing Brooklyn, not Philadelphia.
According to Baseball Reference, Ruth’s 500th home run was on August 11, 1929 against the Cleveland Indians. It was the top of the 2nd and the pitcher was Willis Hudlin. Why you claim New York played Cincinnati is beyond me, unless you said it by mistake.
I've always wondered how Mantle's career would have gone if DiMaggio had given way to him and relented his CF position to Mantle at any point in time prior to the '51 World Series. Mantle was damned near covering half of DiMaggio's position anyway prior to his injury.
I was on vacation and had tickets to the game Eddie Murrayhit his 500th but the weather was bad, I could have easily come back a day early. Needless to say I kicked myself in the butt for that one.
Did the right fielder seem less than interested in making a play on Ted Williams' ball? That looked like it could have been a pretty easy catch. He was standing there casually waiting and watching it float into the first row behind a very short fence. I almost think that fielder wanted the home run for Williams more than Ted wanted it.
I've had the privelege of seeing 2-500th home runs, both by a Chicago first baseman with a reputation as a "classy " player. The late Ernie Banks, and Jim Thome.
