Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Andres Galarraga retired the other day, shuffling off his Met-al coil with 399 home runs to his credit. I found it odd because I saw a Mets-Nats game the other day in which Galarraga went yard, as the kids are wont to say. That got me wondering how many players left the game within striking distance of a milestone.
Here are the inactive batters who were close to 500, 400, or 300 home runs:
| Name | HR |
| Fred McGriff | 493 |
| Lou Gehrig | 493 |
| Al Kaline | 399 |
| Andres Galarraga | 399 |
| Dale Murphy | 398 |
| Joe Carter | 396 |
| Graig Nettles | 390 |
| Rickey Henderson | 297 |
| Kent Hrbek | 293 |
| Rusty Staub | 292 |
| Jimmy Wynn | 291 |
Next are those close to milestones for hits, 3000, 2500, or 2000:
| Name | H |
| Sam Rice | 2987 |
| Sam Crawford | 2961 |
| Mickey Vernon | 2495 |
| Fred McGriff | 2490 |
| Ted Simmons | 2472 |
| Joe Medwick | 2471 |
| Roger Connor | 2467 |
| Harry Hooper | 2466 |
| Ozzie Smith | 2460 |
| Lloyd Waner | 2459 |
| Bill Dahlen | 2457 |
| Jim Rice | 2452 |
| Jimmy Collins | 1999 |
| Del Pratt | 1996 |
| Willie Horton | 1993 |
| George Scott | 1992 |
| Gee Walker | 1991 |
| Charlie Jamieson | 1990 |
| Dusty Baker | 1981 |
| Cy Williams | 1981 |
| George Hendrick | 1980 |
| Sam Thompson | 1979 |
| Phil Cavarretta | 1977 |
| Bill Dickey | 1969 |
| Minnie Minoso | 1963 |
| Jay Bell | 1963 |
| Fred Lynn | 1960 |
| Ben Chapman | 1958 |
| Toby Harrah | 1954 |
| Tom Brown | 1951 |
Now, the pitchers. Who was close to 300, 250, or 200 wins?
| Name | W |
| Bobby Mathews | 297 |
| Vic Willis | 249 |
| Jack Quinn | 247 |
| Joe McGinnity | 246 |
| Dennis Martinez | 245 |
| Jack Powell | 245 |
| Amos Rusie | 245 |
| Bucky Walters | 198 |
| Jack Chesbro | 198 |
| Jesse Tannehill | 197 |
| Adonis Terry | 197 |
| Dazzy Vance | 197 |
| Bob Friend | 197 |
| Larry French | 197 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 197 |
| Bob Shawkey | 196 |
| Claude Osteen | 196 |
| Joe Bush | 195 |
| Ed Walsh | 195 |
Finally, we have strikeout milestones: 3000, 2500, and 2000 (I left Appier because there are rumors of his retiring):
| Name | K |
| Don Drysdale | 2486 |
| Jack Morris | 2478 |
| Mark Langston | 2464 |
| Jim Kaat | 2461 |
| Sam McDowell | 2453 |
| Billy Pierce | 1999 |
| Kevin Appier | 1994 |
| Red Ruffing | 1987 |
| John Clarkson | 1978 |
| Bob Welch | 1969 |
| Whitey Ford | 1956 |
| Bobby Witt | 1955 |
Fred McGriff hit 15 homers in 369 at-bats during 2003-2004. At that pace, he would need 172 additional at-bats to get to 500. He´d probably need around 42 at-bats to get to 2500 hits. Its tough to miss out, but 172 at-bats is almost half a season.
Matthews was one of those 19th century guys who pitched until their arm fell off. His did just 3 wins shy of 300, when that number was not yet golden. Three more and he probably would have been swept into the Hall by one of the old Vets Committees induction-by-the-boatload Hall classes. He also was the first reported coach or "coacher", which we know because he sued the old A's for services as such a year after his retirement.
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