Monday BP: Albert Pujols passed Willie Mays

Hello and happy Monday.

On Saturday, San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays moved down the all-time home run list, when Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels hit home run number 661 in his illustrious career.

The home run moved Mays to sixth all time, where he’ll likely stay for a very long time. The closest active player to Mays is Miguel Cabrera; but Cabrera has just 483 homers and is 37 years old. If I had to put money on someone passing Mays, it would probably be Pujols’ teammate Mike Trout, who has 301 dingers at just 28 years of age.

Here’s the top 10, all-time:

1. Barry Bonds — 762
2. Hank Aaron — 755
3. Babe Ruth — 714
4. Alex Rodriguez — 696
5. Albert Pujols — 662
6. Willie Mays — 660
7. Ken Griffey Jr. — 630
8. Jim Thome — 612
9. Sammy Sosa — 609
10. Frank Robinson — 586

And the top 10 for active players:

1. Albert Pujols — 662
2. Miguel Cabrera — 483
3. Edwin Encarnacion — 423
4. Nelson Cruz — 417
5. Ryan Braun — 351
6. Robinson Cano — 333
7. Jay Bruce — 318
8. Giancarlo Stanton — 312
9. Justin Upton — 305
10. Evan Longoria — 303

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

Yep.

September 21, 1995: Against the Colorado Rockies, Bonds hit a 2-run home run in the 5th inning off of Joe Grahe, scoring John Patterson. It gave the Giants a 5-2 lead, and they would win 5-3. It was his 30th homer of the year.

September 21, 1997: Against the San Diego Padres, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 4th inning off of Sterling Hitchcock. It cut the Giants deficit to 2-1, and they would win 8-5. It was his 37th homer of the year.

September 21, 1999: Against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 6th inning off of Robinson Checo. It cut the Giants deficit to 5-2, but they would lose 9-4. It was his 33rd homer of the year.

September 21, 2005: Against the Washington Nationals, Bonds hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning off of John Patterson, scoring Omar Vizquel. It gave the Giants a 2-0 lead, and they would win 5-1. It was his 4th homer of the year, and his 4th straight game with a big fly.

Old, random MCC article for you to read

The Giants are a win away from winning the World Series (Oct. 27, 2014 — Grant Brisbee)

Giants links

• Henry Schulman on the death of Bay Area scout Gary Hughes (SF Chronicle)
• Maria Guardado on how the Giants know they need to be better to win the Wild Card race (MLB)
• John Shea on Joey Bart’s struggles, and what Gabe Kapler needs from him (SF Chronicle)
• Mark W. Sanchez on Evan Longoria’s honest critique of the team (KNBR)
• Andrew Baggarly on the mistakes and missing players that have led to the Giants recent struggles (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Ali Thanawalla on what Willie Mays said to Albert Pujols after home run number 660 (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Dalton Johnson on Gabe Kapler’s comments about Joey Bart (NBC Sports Bay Area)

I hope you all have a great Monday.