Major League Baseball recently celebrated the accomplishments of Miguel Cabrera joining the 3,000-hit club, becoming the 33rd player in history to do so. He’s also only the seventh player to hit more than 500 home runs, while collecting 3K hits.
Out of those seven players, Cabrera joined rare air where only two all-time MLBbro greats dwell with a batting average of .300 or better.
This is where our story begins.
He did it. What a moment for @MiguelCabrera.
(MLB x @budweiserusa) pic.twitter.com/mXkyJjFFxF
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2022
The fact remains that the 3,000/500/.300 club has been MLBbro country for decades. See Hank Aaron aka “Hammerin’ Hank” and Willie Mays aka “The Say Hey Kid” accomplished this feat in their eras even though many have forgotten.
With Hank Aaron, it might be easy to forget why he’s in the club because that’s just one of the numerous accomplishments on his resume. Most baseball fans remember Aaron for breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, hitting his 715th back on April 8th, 1974…
The Hall of Famer STILL holds the major league records with 2,297 RBI, total bases with 6,856 and 1,477 extra-base hits for his career. He’s third all-time in hits with 3,771 and games played with 3,298. Finally, he’s still in the top five with 2,174 runs scored.
When Mr. Aaron passed in 2021, the current home run king, Barry Bonds shared his “deepest respect and admiration” on social media.
Rest In Peace #HankAaron. A true baseball legend. pic.twitter.com/bDeuzfh8hx
— Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds) January 22, 2021
Willie Mays was another all-time great and the first MLBbro to really merge the sport of baseball and celebrity into one cultural package. Not only was “The Say Hey Kid” loved by fans around the world, but he was also loved by Hollywood. What Michael Jordan did for the NBA in the 1990s is similar to what Willie did in the 1950s and Ken Griffey Jr. did, transcending the sport and expanding it to a much larger audience past the hardcore baseball fan.
While everyone attached this one play to Mays in the 1954 World Series, robbing Vic Wertz of an extra-base hit.
His career resume is just as long as Hank Aaron’s. Mays finished his career with 660 home runs, 3,283 hits with a batting average of .302. He led baseball in home runs multiple times, won 12 straight Gold Gloves spanning from 1957-1968, and was a 20-time All-Star. A true GOAT candidate.
While Miguel Cabrera is being celebrated for an historic achievement…
Only three players in MLB history have 500 homers, 3,000 hits, and a .300+ career batting average.
Hank Aaron. Willie Mays. And now, @MiguelCabrera. pic.twitter.com/F0ZBWU6ka8
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2022
MLBbro.com wants to remind baseball fans that this has been done before…twice, by two of the greatest baseball players to ever grace the diamond.
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