WELCOME TO CLUB 500!

It was just a matter of time. Despite weeks of anticipation Manny Ramirez was eventually heading to the 500 Career Homers Club. And on Saturday evening in Baltimore Ramirez ended that anticipation with one mighty swing of the bat. Best of all, it came during a 6-3 Red sox victory.

Ramirez sent the first pitch he saw from Baltimore reliever Chad Bradford deep into the right centerfield bleachers (estimated 410 ft) in the top of the seventh inning. As a result, Ramirez became just the 24th player in Major League history to hit 500 career homers. As he jogged around the bases thousands of Red Sox fans who made the journey to Orioles Park at Camden Yards jumped for joy and snapped pictures. He was greeted at home plate by Mike Lowell and then jumped up and down with David Ortiz and Julio Lugo in front of the Red Sox dugout.

The blast put a final stamp on the ticket to the Hall of Fame for Ramirez. In addition to becoming the 24th member of Club 500, he is also just the seventh player in baseball history with 500 homers, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 walks, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas and Red Sox legend Ted Williams. He currently holds the fourth highest batting average of that group in the 500 club. Ramirez is the third player to reach 500 in a Red Sox uniform, joining Williams and Jimmy Foxx. Ramirez hit his first home run with Cleveland in 1993 and had 236 with the Indians before signing as a free agent with the Red Sox in December 2000. He has since hit 264 home runs with Boston.

This was a moment to celebrate one of the greatest righthanded hitters in the game's history. Ramirez appears with elite company in just about every offensive category. It's the result of hard work which completely offsets the whole "Manny Being Manny" nonsense that captivates the minds of the local and national media as well as the casual baseball fan. Ramirez has been and will always be considered one of the hardest working hitters in the history of the league.

And let's not forget that his playing days are far from over. He turned 36 years old on Friday, but many believe he will be putting up impressive numbers for several more years which will push him up the list in many different categories. Given good health, consistent production and a little luck over the next several seasons Ramirez could find himself creeping up on 600 career homers. Additionally he could chase 3,000 career hits and 2,000 runs batted in. However, those loft numbers will only enhance the fact that baseball fans who have followed his career will know without a doubt that they watched one of the all-time greats the game will ever produce.

OH, AND THE RED SOX WIN

Lost in the Ramirez celebration was a Red Sox victory. A second consecutive Red Sox victory on the road no less.

Yep, the Red Sox rallied from a 2-0 and 3-2 deficit to claim their three-run victory over Baltimore. Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz hit back-to-back homers in the third inning to Pull Boston even at 2-2. After the orioles took a 3-2 lead, Jason Varitek's rbi single in the sixth inning tied the game up once again.

In the seventh inning Ortiz drove in Jacoby Ellsbury with a sac fly to give Boston a one-run lead. Ellsbury tripled to open the inning. Ramirez followed with his historical shot to make the score 5-3. The Sox added a run in the eighth when Youkilis scored on Coco Crisp' groundball double play.

David Aardsma picked up the mound win in relief of Jon Lester, who lasted five innings and was charged with all three Baltimore runs. Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 16th save of the season.

Boston plays two more games in Baltimore before heading back to Boston. The Red Sox victory helped them improve to 34-24 on the season. They trail Tampa Bay by a game for the division lead. The victory also helped the Sox improve to 13-19 on the road. They began their current 10-game trip by being swept by Oakland and dropping two of three to Seattle.