Adrian Beltre Belts Career Hit Number 3000

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre became the 31st player in major league history to reach 3000 hits when he hit a rocket down the left field line against the Baltimore Orioles’ Wade Miley in fourth inning of the Rangers’ 10-6 loss to the Orioles in Arlington, Texas on July 30th. The 38 year old Beltre became the first player from the Dominican Republic to get 3000 hits in the majors.

The 3000th hit tied him for 30th place on the all time list with Roberto Clemente. He has a realistic chance of passing Al Kaline (3007), Wade Boggs (3010), Rafeal Palmeiro (3020), and Lou Brock (3023) yet this season. The milestone should cement Beltre as a future inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also has 605 career doubles, tied for 13th all time, and has 454 home runs, with a legitimate shot at 500.

We figure that the Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols will play at least one more year, and would likely be the next member of the 3000 hit club. Pujols has 2914 hits through July 30th, and could reach 3000 next season. Houston’s Carlos Beltran is next among active players with 2695 hits; he could make it though he’s now 40 years old and one wonders if he’ll play long enough for 305 more hits. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera has 2605, and at age 34, has a good shot at it. Seattle’s Robinson Cano (34) is next with 2311 hits. He’s a little too far away to project beyond a “maybe”. After that, we’ll have to wait until some of the great young players who have made it to the majors in the last couple of years go through their careers before we see another make it to 3000.