Albert chasing 3000

[cavebird]

And he shouldn't be. An outfielder with very little power and very little speed who has never been an all-star and who has gone to the post-season once in his career, getting swept in the ALCS by the Royals, wouldn't belong anywhere near the Hall of Fame, even if he does manage to stick around long enough and be better than replacement level long enough to get the hits he needs to reach 3,000.

He's underrated as a hitter. He more or less possesses the hit tool only. That being said, he is not a Hall-of-Famer; the results just aren't there, even if I do not give as much emphasis on playoffs as a Yankees fan would.

[TS Garp]

Don't discount Markakis. I don't think he gets there, but at age 34, with incredible durability and an average of 171 hits/season over the last 5 years, he could get there by age 39 if he stays healthy.

He looks incredible but players can drop off very quickly in their mid to late 30's either due to injuries or declining skills. I also think it could be challenging for him to keep an every day gig in a couple of years unless what he's doing this year is the new normal for him.

[revo]

He looks incredible but players can drop off very quickly in their mid to late 30's either due to injuries or declining skills. I also think it could be challenging for him to keep an every day gig in a couple of years unless what he's doing this year is the new normal for him.

Oh sure, but every player who approached 3,000 faced those same challenges. I don't think he'll keep an everyday role if he hits 3 HRs like he did in 2015, but if he can keep an OPS+ of 105-110 he could come close.

As the article I posted states, he has an almost exact comp in Johnny Damon, who petered out at 2,769 career hits, so there's that.

[Ken]

if he can keep an OPS+ of 105-110 he could come close.

But that's the thing, right - it's going to be hard to maintain that when those numbers are so close to his peak rates.

If you look at players like Pujols, they are able to keep playing with an OPS+ closer to 100 because they were at 170 or 180 at peak. So a 60% Pujols is still valuable.

On the other hand a 60% Markakis is not.

You need Markakis to stop aging for 3 or 4 years for this to be even close to realistic.

[revo]

But that's the thing, right - it's going to be hard to maintain that when those numbers are so close to his peak rates.

If you look at players like Pujols, they are able to keep playing with an OPS+ closer to 100 because they were at 170 or 180 at peak. So a 60% Pujols is still valuable.

On the other hand a 60% Markakis is not.

You need Markakis to stop aging for 3 or 4 years for this to be even close to realistic.

One only needs to look at the title of this thread to come up with a response to this. Ichiro is a career 107 OPS+ player and averaged 83 OPS+ over the last eight seasons. Arguably he probably should have seen his career end years ago, but that's just it with baseball, you never know.

[B-Fly]

One only needs to look at the title of this thread to come up with a response to this. Ichiro is a career 107 OPS+ player and averaged 83 OPS+ over the last eight seasons. Arguably he probably should have seen his career end years ago, but that's just it with baseball, you never know.

Sure, but part of how Ichiro hung on was celebrity and drawing foreign revenue. Markakis is no Ichiro.

[cavebird]

Sure, but part of how Ichiro hung on was celebrity and drawing foreign revenue. Markakis is no Ichiro.

The other part was that he was an absolutely elite player who was happy to hang on at a very advanced age as a fourth/fifth OF. It is hard to compare Ichiro to a normal player because of how late his major league career started. If you take his numbers from his normal aged years for a baseball player, his OPS+ is much better.

[Hornsby]

The other part was that he was an absolutely elite player who was happy to hang on at a very advanced age as a fourth/fifth OF. It is hard to compare Ichiro to a normal player because of how late his major league career started. If you take his numbers from his normal aged years for a baseball player, his OPS+ is much better.

I think that you could dumb down his Japan numbers by a 3rd, and you'd still have a guy with 4000 hits and 500 steals. Remarkable...

[Hornsby]

There it is! A little soft serve to right...#3000.

[madducks]

There it is! A little soft serve to right...#3000.

Next milestone up for Mr. Pujols is 2000 RBI. Only Aaron, Ruth, ARod, and Anson have done that so far. Albert needs 65 more RBI (82 for the year) to join that elite group.

[Redbirds Fan]

3000 hits and 600 home runs...that's a pretty small club, too.

[Sour Masher]

3000 hits and 600 home runs...that's a pretty small club, too.

Dude is an all time great. That last contract he got was still a horrible one. These milestones don't generate enough revenue to warrant such deals. I hope the next cba does something to up the pay if elite younger talent, as I don't think they will continue to make up that lost salary on the back end with deals like Albert's.

Edit: mentioned palmeiro getting to 3000 and 600, but he fell short of 600.

[cavebird]

Raffy was short of 3,000. Barry is a better idea, but he didn't get the hits; something about four wides.

[Sour Masher]

Raffy was short of 3,000. Barry is a better idea, but he didn't get the hits; something about four wides.

Actually, he got the 3000, but not the 600. My bad. And, of course, the PEDs. But I've heard cases that raffy wasn't a HOFer even if PEds weren't considered.

[Hornsby]

3000 hits and 600 home runs...that's a pretty small club, too.

Aaron, A-Rod, Mays, and now Albert...and I could NOT care less how old he is, he's an all timer.