Arlington, TX (My Sportsbook) - Texas Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro joined the 500 home run club Sunday when he hit a three-run blast off Cleveland pitcher Dave Elder. Palmeiro drilled a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field to become the 19th player to reach 500 home runs and the second this season.

Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs also joined the exclusive club on April 4 of this year.

"I don't belong up there with some of those names, believe me. You talk about guys like Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Willie Mays and guys like that -- they are the greatest players of all time," Palmeiro said on the team's website earlier this week.

Palmeiro was third in the AL last season with 43 homers. It was his fourth 40- homer season - all in the past five years. Only Sosa and Barry Bonds have more homers the past 10 years, but no one else can match Palmeiro's eight straight seasons with least 38.

The 38-year-old veteran is a four-time All-Star and the only active player with 450 homers, 500 doubles and 2,500 hits. He was a first-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1985, and played 258 games there before going to Texas as part of a nine-player trade in 1988. He then joined Baltimore before the 1994 season and returned to Texas in 1999.

In addition to Palmeiro and Sosa, the other members of the 500-homer club are: Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Bonds, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Willie McCovey, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott and Eddie Murray.

The next active players in line to join the club are Fred McGriff with 483 home runs and Ken Griffey Jr. with 469.