Time running out for Manny's 500th

Manny Ramirez's walk-off home-run off Joel Peralta on Sunday kept alive Marietta's playoff hopes against Carolina, but also his own chance at reaching 500 career home runs.

Heading into the final three-game series at Arkansas on Wednesday, Ramirez now has 12 homers on the year and 497 for his career (while Marietta sits three games behind Carolina for the sixth and final playoff spot). Ramirez is assured to finish his career 4th on the all-time home run list (behind Thome, 410; A-Rod, 555; and Bonds, 689), and would be the 4th player to reach 500 home runs.

Ramirez has said this will be his 16th and final season in DMBL, meaning he would be eligible for the Hall of Fame starting in 2016. He's played at least 132 games every year but one since 2000 and has never played fewer than 104 games in a season since breaking in with Toledo in 1996. He joined Newark in 1997 and was a key cog in the Sugar Bear dynasty until being dealt to Marietta this season, after which he announced his impending retirement.

Thome the third into 500-club

Jim Thome smacked the 500th home run of his career last week in a 4-2 win at home over Sardine City, becoming the third player in league history to reach 500. The historic bomb came off of Phil Hughes, leading off the second inning. With Monday's home runs, he now has 502.

Thome joins the all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez as the only members of the 500-home run club. Bond is first with 689 homers, followed by A-Rod, who enters Thursday's games with 551 dingers.

The exclusive club could get another member before the seasons is over, as Marietta's Manny Ramirez enters Thursday's action third all-time with 493 home runs. He also is among the league's all-time leaders in RBI, runs scored, strikeouts, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and games played.

A first basemen who's seen time exclusively at designated hitter with Arkansas this year, Thome adds to his Hall of Fame resume. Thome's best DMBL years were spent with the juggernaut Sugar Bears, his lone Mitchell Award coming in 2003, interrupting what could have been a four-year streak of Mitchell Awards for Bonds.

Thome has enjoyed a resurgence this year, now with 25 home runs, his most since he hit 37 in 2008 with Las Vegas. He spent parts of the past three seasons in Las Vegas, Newark and Arkansas. He came up with Newark in 1996, hitting 21 home runs, before reeling off 11 straight seasons of at least 32 home runs (well, almost -- the streak was interrupted when he missed the entire 2006 season due to injury), including 65 in his Mitchell Award season of 2003, to go with a career-high 154 RBIs.