Thome passes McGwire on homer list

Much like the Cardinals offense is helpless to score runs and give the team's pitchers a chance to win, retired St. Louis hitting coach Mark McGwire was helpless this weekend to stop Twins designated hitter Jim Thome from passing him on the all-time home run charts.





Thome hit a pair of homers Saturday against the Rangers. The first tied Big Mac at 583 lifetime round trippers. The second passed him for ninth on the all-time list with 584.





I still can't believe McGwire walked away from the game 17 homers short of the elite 600 mark. Not that it would necessarily mean anything at this point for his Hall of Fame bid... I just don't get how a competitive professional athlete could get so close to a major landmark like that and say "nevermind."





All-time homers list:





 1 - Barry Bonds      762

 2 - Henry Aaron      755

 3 - Babe Ruth         714

 4 - Willie Mays        660

 5 - Ken Griffey Jr.    630

 6 - Sammy Sosa     609

 7 - Alex Rodriguez   604 (active)

 8 - Frank Robinson  586

 9 - Jim Thome        584 (active)

10- Mark McGwire    583

This story was originally published September 5, 2010 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Thome passes McGwire on homer list."