No disrespect to Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa, who have not technically retired from baseball. But on Yahoo Sports, those two are not considered active players. So with that in mind, here is a Top 10 list of currently active MLB home run hitters.
1. Ken Griffey, Jr., Cincinnati Reds (597)—Have you noticed yet that while players linked to performance enhancers like Bonds, Sosa, and Mark McGwire keep fighting off asterisks, Griffey just keeps hitting home runs? This guy had home runs in his blood, but unlike Bonds, didn’t put anything else in his. And if he’d stayed healthy all these years, he’d surely have 800 by now.
2. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (522)—Okay, so this guy is probably a lock to overtake Bonds some day, but you can’t convince me that Rodriguez has done it legally all along either. I mean, look at his 2007 numbers compared to everyone else’s. He’s also never going to win a ring, because all he does in the playoffs is view the opposing pitcher as a big, hairy monster.
3. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (516)—Thomas was released by the Blue Jays last month after being benched, and then re-signed with Oakland, where he played in 2006. When the Mitchell Report was on its way, Thomas wanted everyone to know that he was and always had been clean. So what you’re saying then, Frank, is that you’ve always looked like a bloated cartoon character?
4. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox (514)—Look, I know that people gain weight in their twenties and thirties, but Thome’s rookie photos to where he was a few years later parallels Barry Bonds’, um, growth. Still, the guy is still mashing at the age of 37, with 7 homers already in 2008.
5. Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox (497)—It’s almost mind-boggling to think Thome and Ramirez used to hit 3-4 in the Indians’ lineup. Will someone remind me how that team never won a World Series in the ‘90’s?
6. Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (482)—The most mystifying thing to me about Gary Sheffield is that he’s Dwight Gooden’s nephew. Sheffield is 39 and Gooden just turned 44. Somebody get me a calculator.
7. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets (435)—He’s slowing down with creaky knees, but if I was a pitcher this guy would still scare the crap out of me every time he came to bat.
8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (396)—If Jones has this many home runs, as a Mets fan I’m convinced that 200 of those have come against my team. I’m not sure anyone has ever owned a team like Jones owns the Mets. This year he has come out of the gate like Ted Williams, batting .413 through 32 games with 10 homers.
9. Jason Giambi, New York Yankees (371)—Well this guy all but admitted to cheating, so if you take away even 20% of these bombs, he becomes fairly insignificant in the big picture.
10. Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers (369)—Was Andruw Jones on the Mitchell Report? Because how do you go from 51 home runs to 41 to 26, and then this year be on pace for FIVE? That’s a steep slope, Mr. Jones.
