"There have been 24 players in major league history who have hit 500 home runs or more. Gary Sheffield will become the 25th.

The question isn't whether he'll get to 500. He fully expects to hit many more than that. The only question will be whether Sheffield does it this year or next.

The next home run Sheffield hits will be the 494th of his career. It will break the tie he climbed into on Monday night with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff with a two-run shot in the seventh inning of the Tigers' 8-7 victory over the Rangers.

Of the two players he tied, Sheffield said it was far more important to him to pull even with McGriff because he's a friend of his. However, Sheffield, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Tigers' 11-3 victory on Tuesday, also knows that to be mentioned with Gehrig, it means he's up with impressive historic company.

"Sounds like Hall of Fame to me," manager Jim Leyland said about Sheffield's accomplishments.

That could be, but what's more important to the Tigers not just this year, but next because he's guaranteed a $14 million salary in 2009, is how Sheffield views his own potential to contribute.

It has been well documented what he has been through this year, and what he has been trying to bounce back from. But when he said Monday night: "Now I'm starting to feel like myself every day," they were encouraging words for his team to hear.

"I still have a ways to go, but I'm going to get there."

What kind of "there" is Sheffield talking about?

The conversation he had with McGriff when the Tigers were on the road playing Tampa Bay earlier this month holds the answer.

He told McGriff he's going to get back to being a 30-40 home-run hitter.

Is that possible? Judging by his pace since the All-Star break, perhaps it is.

Sheffield went into Tuesday night's game against the Rangers with eight home runs in his last 28 games. At that pace, he would hit 40 home runs in 140 games.

Granted, it's a reach to think he'd maintain a 28-game pace over 140 games, but maybe at age 39 (Sheffield will turn 40 on Nov. 18) there's what Leyland thinks there is: "A lot left in his tank."

If nothing else, seven more home runs in the tank will get him 500."