A few minutes ago, I saw Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols lace an opposite field single off Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake for the 3,000th hit of his career. The Mariners' fans graciously gave Pujols a standing ovation.
I hope baseball fans appreciate Pujols' achievement because it might be awhile before we see this again.
At 72nd on the all-time MLB hit list, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera has the most of any active player after Pujols with 2,666 hits. But the 35-year old has just been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right hamstring injury. Cabrera is at a stage of his career where his offensive output is declining and his suspectibility to injury is increasing.
After Cabrera, you have Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano who is tied with Sammy Sosa for 123rd on the all-time hit list with 2,408. Cano is also 35. He has a better shot at 3,000 than Cabrera but there is no guarantee injuries and declining productivity won't catch up with him too.
The other viable possibilities have less than 2,000 hits - Adam Jones (1680), Joey Votto (1614), Evan Longoria & Justin Upton (1497), Andrew McCutchen (1486) and Elvis Andrus (1474). If not anyone from this group then perhaps Mike Trout (1073), Manny Machado (905) or Bryce Harper (811).
All of the above players will probably have great careers without necessarily getting to 3,000 hits.
So let's savor Albert Pujols' opposite field single just a bit longer.
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