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 a term applied to 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. 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, ultimately finishing his career with more than 4,100. Cobb, also MLB's all-time career batting average leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985 when Pete Rose collected his 4,192nd hit. 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. Derek Jeter is the most recent player to reach the milestone, achieving the feat on July 9, 2011.

In total, 28 players have reached the 3,000 hit club in MLB history. Of these, 14 were right-handed batters, 12 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Ten of these players (and the only active member of the 3,000 hit club) have played for only one major league team. The Cleveland Indians are the only franchise to see three players reach the milestone while on their roster: Lajoie (while the franchise was known as the "Naps"), Tris Speaker, and Eddie Murray. Four players—Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Murray, and Rafael Palmeiro—are also members of the 500 home run club. Cobb holds the highest career batting average, .366, of the club while Cal Ripken, Jr. holds the lowest at .276. Jeter and Wade Boggs are the only players to hit a home run for their 3,000th hit and Paul Molitor is the only player to hit a triple for his 3,000th; all others hit a double or single. Craig Biggio was thrown out at second base attempting to stretch his 3,000th hit, a single, into a double. 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.

Baseball writer Josh Pahigian wrote that the club has been "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling." Reaching 3,000 hits is often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. All eligible club members, with the exception of Palmeiro, have been elected to the Hall, and since 1962 all have been elected on the first ballot. Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or dead for at least six months, disqualifying two living players (Biggio and Jeter). Additionally, Rose was declared permanently ineligible for his role in gambling on baseball games.

Key

Player	Name of the player
Hits (Hits in 2011)	Career hits (Hits during the 2011 season)
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

Ty Cobb reached 4,000 hits during the 1928 season and was the only player to reach this mark until Rose joined him in 1984.

Paul Molitor is the only player to hit a triple for his 3,000th hit.

Derek Jeter and his boyhood idol Dave Winfield both are members of the club

Player	Hits	Average	Date	Team	Seasons	3,000th hit	Ref
Rose, PetePete Rose	4,256	.303	01978-05-05May 5, 1978	Cincinnati Reds	1963–1986	1 !Single
Cobb, TyTy Cobb†	4,191	.367	01921-08-19August 19, 1921	Detroit Tigers	1905–1928	1 !Single
Aaron, HankHank Aaron†	3,771	.305	01970-05-17May 17, 1970	Atlanta Braves	1954–1976	1 !Single
Musial, StanStan Musial†	3,630	.331	01958-05-13May 13, 1958	St. Louis Cardinals	1941–1944 1946–1963	2 !Double
Speaker, TrisTris Speaker†	3,514	.345	01925-05-17May 17, 1925	Cleveland Indians	1907–1928	1 !Single
Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski†	3,419	.285	01979-09-12September 12, 1979	Boston Red Sox	1961–1983	1 !Single
Anson, CapCap Anson†	3,418	.334	01897-07-18July 18, 1897	Chicago Colts	1871–1897	zzz !Unclear
Wagner, HonusHonus Wagner†	3,415	.328	01914-06-09June 9, 1914	Pittsburgh Pirates	1897–1917	2 !Double
Molitor, PaulPaul Molitor†	3,319	.306	01996-09-16September 16, 1996	Minnesota Twins	1978–1998	3 !Triple
Collins, EddieEddie Collins†	3,315	.333	01925-06-06June 6, 1925	Chicago White Sox	1906–1930	1 !Single
Mays, WillieWillie Mays†	3,283	.302	01970-07-18July 18, 1970	San Francisco Giants	1951–1952 1954–1973	1 !Single
Murray, EddieEddie Murray†	3,255	.287	01995-06-30June 30, 1995	Cleveland Indians	1977–1997	1 !Single
Lajoie, NapNap Lajoie†	3,242	.338	01914-09-27September 27, 1914	Cleveland Naps	1896–1916	2 !Double
Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr.†	3,184	.276	02000-04-15April 15, 2000	Baltimore Orioles	1981–2001	1 !Single
Brett, GeorgeGeorge Brett†	3,154	.305	01992-09-30September 30, 1992	Kansas City Royals	1973–1993	1 !Single
Waner, PaulPaul Waner†	3,152	.333	01942-06-19June 19, 1942	Boston Braves	1926–1945	1 !Single
Yount, RobinRobin Yount†	3,142	.285	01992-09-09September 9, 1992	Milwaukee Brewers	1974–1993	1 !Single
Gwynn, TonyTony Gwynn†	3,141	.338	01999-08-06August 6, 1999	San Diego Padres	1982–2001	1 !Single
Winfield, DaveDave Winfield†	3,110	.283	01993-09-16September 16, 1993	Minnesota Twins	1973–1995	1 !Single
Jeter, DerekDerek Jeter*	3,088	.313	02011-07-09July 9, 2011	New York Yankees	1995–present	4 !Home run
Biggio, CraigCraig Biggio	3,060	.281	02007-06-28June 28, 2007	Houston Astros	1988–2007	1 !Single
Henderson, RickeyRickey Henderson†	3,055	.279	02001-10-07October 7, 2001	San Diego Padres	1979–2003	2 !Double
Carew, RodRod Carew†	3,053	.328	01985-08-04August 4, 1985	California Angels	1967–1985	1 !Single
Brock, LouLou Brock†	3,023	.293	01979-08-13August 13, 1979	St. Louis Cardinals	1961–1979	1 !Single
Palmeiro, RafaelRafael Palmeiro	3,020	.288	02005-07-15July 15, 2005	Baltimore Orioles	1986–2005	2 !Double
Boggs, WadeWade Boggs†	3,010	.328	01999-08-07August 7, 1999	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	1982–1999	4 !Home run
Kaline, AlAl Kaline†	3,007	.297	01974-09-24September 24, 1974	Detroit Tigers	1953–1974	2 !Double
Clemente, RobertoRoberto Clemente†	3,000	.317	01972-09-30September 30, 1972	Pittsburgh Pirates	1955–1972	2 !Double

Footnotes

• ^a Two major factors have confused Anson's precise hit total. First, a rule which existed for only the 1887 MLB season counted walks as hits. Additionally, Anson played five seasons in the National Association (NA), which is not always recognized as an official "major league". MLB.com credits Anson with 3,418 career hits, including his time in the NA but not including his 1887 walks. Baseball-Reference credits him with 3,435 hits using the same standards as MLB.com but differing over his hit total in 1889. The Hall of Fame shows 3,081 hits for Anson, including his 1887 walks (for a total of 224 hits that season) but not including NA playing time. The date listed comes from MLB.com, using their hit totals for Anson.
• ^b MLB.com and the Hall of Fame credit Cobb with 4,191 hits, while Baseball-Reference lists 4,189.
• ^c This was not Clemente's last game, however, as he entered his next and final game as a defensive substitution and did not bat. Clemente died on December 31, 1972.

See also

• List of lifetime Major League Baseball hit leaders through history
• List of Major League Baseball hit records
• List of Major League Baseball players with 2,000 hits
• Mr. 3000

References

General

• "Career Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/H_career.shtml. Retrieved July 4, 2010. 
• "3,000 Hits Club – Milestones". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/milestones/index.jsp?feature=three_thousand_h. Retrieved July 4, 2010. 
• "The 3,000 Hit Club". National Baseball Hall of Fame. http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/3000_hit_club/index.htm. Retrieved July 4, 2010. 

Specific