3,000 hit club

Pete Rose is the all-time MLB hits leader with 4,256 hits

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 hit club is the group of batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit total is unclear.^{[lower-alpha 1]} Two players—Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner—reached 3,000 hits during the 1914 season. Ty Cobb became the club's fourth member in 1921 and became the first player in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits in 1927; he ultimately finished his career with 4,191.^{[7][lower-alpha 2]} Pete Rose became the second member of the 4,000 hit club on April 13, 1984 while playing for the Montreal Expos.^[11] Cobb, also the major leagues' all-time career batting average leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985, when Rose collected his 4,192nd hit.^[12] Rose, the current record holder, finished his career with 4,256 hits. Roberto Clemente's career ended with precisely 3,000 hits, reaching the mark in the last at bat of his career on September 30, 1972.^{[13][14][lower-alpha 3]}

In total, 32 players have reached the 3,000 hit mark in MLB history. Of these, 17 were right-handed batters, 13 were left-handed, and two were switch hitters, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Ten of these players have played for only one major league team. Six players—Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez—are also members of the 500 home run club. At .367, Cobb holds the highest career batting average among club members, while Cal Ripken Jr. holds the lowest at .276. Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Wade Boggs are the only players to hit a home run for their 3,000th hit and Paul Molitor and Ichiro Suzuki are the only players to hit a triple for their 3,000th; all others hit a single or double. Craig Biggio was thrown out at second base attempting to stretch his 3,000th hit, a single, into a double.^[17] Biggio and Jeter are the only players to join the club in a game where they had five hits; Jeter reached base safely in all of his at bats.^[18] The most recent player to join the club is Pujols, who collected his 3,000th hit on May 4, 2018, while playing for the Los Angeles Angels.^[19]

Baseball writer Josh Pahigian writes that membership in the club has been "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling."^[20] Reaching 3,000 hits is often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.^[21][22][23] All eligible club members, with the exception of Palmeiro, whose career has been tainted by steroid allegations, have been elected to the Hall, and since 1962 all club members who have been inducted were elected on the first ballot, except for Biggio. Rose is ineligible for the Hall of Fame because he was permanently banned from baseball in 1989.^[24][25] After four years on the ballot, Palmeiro failed to be named on 5% of ballots in 2014, and accordingly his name was removed from the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot for future elections, although it is possible that the Veterans Committee could in the future enshrine him.^[26] Twenty-one different teams have had a player reach 3,000 hits.

Key

Cap Anson reached 3,000 hits on July 18, 1897, and was the first player to do so.

In 1927, Ty Cobb became the first player to collect 4,000 hits.

Paul Molitor was the first to triple for his 3,000th hit.

Derek Jeter (left) and Dave Winfield (right) are both members.

Albert Pujols is the most recent member of the 3,000 hit club.

Player	Name of the player
Hits	Career hits
Average	Career batting average
Date	Date of the player's 3,000th hit
Team	The batter's team for his 3,000th hit
Seasons	The seasons this player played in the major leagues
3,000th hit	The type of hit the batter recorded for his 3,000th hit
	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
	Player is active

Members

Statistics are updated through October 1, 2018.

Player	Hits	Average	Date	Team	Seasons	3,000th hit	Ref
Pete Rose	4,256	.303	May 5, 1978	Cincinnati Reds	1963–1986	Single	[27]
Ty Cobb	4,191[lower-alpha 2]	.367	August 19, 1921	Detroit Tigers	1905–1928		[10]
Hank Aaron	3,771	.305	May 17, 1970	Atlanta Braves	1954–1976		[28]
Stan Musial	3,630	.331	May 13, 1958	St. Louis Cardinals	1941–1944, 1946–1963	Double	[29]
Tris Speaker	3,514	.345	May 17, 1925	Cleveland Indians	1907–1928	Single	[30]
Derek Jeter	3,465	.310	July 9, 2011	New York Yankees	1995–2014	Home run	[31]
Honus Wagner	3,430	.329	June 9, 1914	Pittsburgh Pirates	1897–1917	Double	[32]
Carl Yastrzemski	3,419	.285	September 12, 1979	Boston Red Sox	1961–1983	Single	[33]
Paul Molitor	3,319	.306	September 16, 1996	Minnesota Twins	1978–1998	Triple	[34]
Eddie Collins	3,314	.333	June 3, 1925	Chicago White Sox	1906–1930	Single	[35]
Willie Mays	3,283	.302	July 18, 1970	San Francisco Giants	1951–1952, 1954–1973		[36]
Eddie Murray	3,255	.287	June 30, 1995	Cleveland Indians	1977–1997		[37]
Nap Lajoie	3,252[lower-alpha 4]	.339	September 27, 1914	Cleveland Naps	1896–1916	Double	[39]
Cal Ripken Jr.	3,184	.276	April 15, 2000	Baltimore Orioles	1981–2001	Single	[41]
Adrián Beltré	3,166	.286	July 30, 2017	Texas Rangers	1998–present	Double	[42]
George Brett	3,154	.305	September 30, 1992	Kansas City Royals	1973–1993	Single	[43]
Paul Waner	3,152	.333	June 19, 1942	Boston Braves	1926–1945		[44]
Robin Yount	3,142	.285	September 9, 1992	Milwaukee Brewers	1974–1993		[45]
Tony Gwynn	3,141	.338	August 6, 1999	San Diego Padres	1982–2001		[46]
Alex Rodriguez	3,115	.295	June 19, 2015	New York Yankees	1994–2013, 2015–2016	Home run	[47]
Dave Winfield	3,110	.283	September 16, 1993	Minnesota Twins	1973–1995	Single	[48]
Ichiro Suzuki[lower-alpha 5]	3,089	.311	August 7, 2016	Miami Marlins	2001–2018	Triple	[50]
Albert Pujols	3,082	.302	May 4, 2018	Los Angeles Angels	2001–present	Single	[51]
Craig Biggio	3,060	.281	June 28, 2007	Houston Astros	1988–2007		[52]
Rickey Henderson	3,055	.279	October 7, 2001	San Diego Padres	1979–2003	Double	[53]
Rod Carew	3,053	.328	August 4, 1985	California Angels	1967–1985	Single	[54]
Lou Brock	3,023	.293	August 13, 1979	St. Louis Cardinals	1961–1979		[55]
Rafael Palmeiro	3,020	.288	July 15, 2005	Baltimore Orioles	1986–2005	Double	[56]
Cap Anson	3,011[lower-alpha 1]	.331	July 18, 1897[lower-alpha 1]	Chicago Colts	1871–1897	Single	[6]
Wade Boggs	3,010	.328	August 7, 1999	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	1982–1999	Home run	[57]
Al Kaline	3,007	.297	September 24, 1974	Detroit Tigers	1953–1974	Double	[58]
Roberto Clemente	3,000	.317	September 30, 1972	Pittsburgh Pirates	1955–1972		[59]

See also

• List of lifetime Major League Baseball hit leaders through history
• List of Major League Baseball hit records
• List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
• Mr. 3000
• Chasing 3000

Notes

References

General

Specific