Miguel Cabrera of Maracay, Venezuela recorded a notable achievement on Saturday in a 13-0 Detroit Tigers clobbering over the Colorado Rockies. Cabrera recorded his 3000th career hit in Major League Baseball with a first inning single to right field with one out in the first inning.
In the process, Cabrera became the 33rd player to record 3000 hits, the first Venezuelan, the sixth first baseman, the seventh ever to reach 3000 hits and 500 home runs, and the fourth player to record 3000 hits versus the Colorado Rockies.
The other three players to record their 3000th hit against the Rockies were Ichiro Suzuki, Craig Biggio and Rickey Henderson according to Adnan Virk of MLB Network. The other six players to record 500 career home runs and 3000 hits were Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. In this piece, let us focus on first basemen. Here is a list of the other five players to reach 3000 hits with first base as their primary position.
Related: Welcome to the Club, Miggy
1) Eddie Murray
The Los Angeles native recorded his 3000th hit on June 30, 1995, while playing for the Cleveland Indians in a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. While playing designated hitter at the time, Murray had a sixth inning single to join the club. He ended with 3255 hits.
2) Rod Carew
The native of Gatun, Panama shared his time in his Major League career at first base and second base, but played 54 more games at first base than second base. Like Murray, Carew recorded his 3000th hit with a single against the Twins. This one came in the third inning, while playing for the California Angels in a 6-5 Angels win on August 4, 1985. Interestingly, Carew played for the Twins from 1967 to 1978, before playing his last seven MLB seasons with California. He ended with 3053 hits.
3) Albert Pujols
The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is the only other active player with 3000 hits. The current St. Louis Cardinals first baseman hit a broken-bat single in the fifth inning in a 5-0 Los Angeles Angels win over the Seattle Mariners on May 4, 2018. Pujols is 11th all-time in hits with 3308.
Related: Congrats to Albert Pujols on Hit #3000
4) Rafael Palmeiro
The native of Havana, Cuba recorded his 3000th hit against the Mariners, like Pujols. Palmeiro’s 3000th hit was a fifth inning double in a 6-3 Baltimore Orioles win over Seattle on July 15, 2005. Palmeiro finished his career with 3020 hits.
5) Cap Anson
The native of Marshalltown, Iowa was the first first baseman to record 3000 hits. He achieved the feat in 1897 while with the Chicago Colts. The exact number of hits Anson recorded in his career is up for debate, but research shows he reached the 3000 hit club in Major League Baseball at the age of 45.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
