2,500 Hit Club

2,500 Hits

2,500 hits is a major milestone in a baseball player's career. It is the midway point between a very good career 2,000 hit career and greatness in the 3,000 hit club. When a player reaches 2,500 hits at a relatively young age; the countdown to 3,000 begins. As of August 2015, there have been 98 players who have reached 2,500 hits in their career. The next 500 hits have proven to be a difficult task because only 28 of those players have gone on to immortality in the 3,000 club. The charter member of the 2,500 hit club was Cap Anson; he achieved the feat in the 1891 NL season. Napoleon Lajoie was the first player to accumulate 2,500 hits in the American League, doing so in the 1916 AL season.

Records and Trivia

Wee Willie Keeler

Ty Cobb was the youngest player to achieve 2,500 hits in his career; he reached the mark at the age of 31 years, 241 days. Al Simmons reached 2,500 hits faster than anyone in the 20th Century; he reached the mark in 1,784 games. Willie Keeler reached 2,500 hits in fewer games than Simmons (he had 2,650 hits in 1,807 games) but record keeping regarding which game he reached it in is rare at best. Simmons is also the American League record holder for the fastest 2,500 hits. Paul Waner holds the record in the National League by reaching 2,500 hits in 1,825 games.