Well done

----- Original Message -----

From: Jan Larson

To: hornsby@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 11:06 PM

Subject: [!! SPAM] [hornsby] Biggio

Here are some interesting facts relating to Craig Biggio's 3000th hit:

1. Biggio is the 27th player in major league history to reach the milestone.

2. Biggio is the first player to collect his 3000th hit in a game in which he got five hits.

3. Never before has a player gotten his 500th homerun (Frank Thomas) on the same day that another player got his 3000th hit.

4. Had Biggio not been thrown out at second on his 3000th hit, it would have also been his 1000th career extra base hit. He is currently sitting at 999, with 658 doubles (sixth all-time, seven behind George Brett), 55 triples and 286 HRs.

5. With his 3001st hit in the ninth inning, Biggio passed Roberto Clemente and moved into 26th place all-time in career hits. Next up is Al Kaline at 3007 and Wade Boggs at 3010. With 54 more hits, Biggio would move past Rafael Palmeiro, Lou Brock, Rod Carew and Rickey Henderson into 20th place. He will not catch Dave Winfield (3110, 19th place) this season.

6. Biggio is only the third player to play the majority of games at second base to collect 3000 hits. The others are Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie.

Some other Biggio facts:

1. He is the only player in major league history to be a regular at catcher, a middle infield position and center field.

2. He was selected to the All-Star game at both catcher and second base.

3. He is currently second all-time in HBP with 284 (including one Friday night), just three behind leader Hugh Jennings.

4. Biggio is the only player with 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 250 HRs and 400 SBs. (Barry Bonds, who is 103 hits from 3000 and five doubles from 600, could be the second.)

About three or four years ago, I thought Biggio was a *possible* Hall-of-Famer. Now, I believe he will be elected although not necessarily on the first ballot, depending on who else is eligible in his first year. Naysayers will point out that he never was a league leader in the "glamour" stats (batting average, HRs or RBIs) and only led in the second-tier stats, runs (twice), doubles (three times) and stolen bases (once). He also was less than stellar in the post-season and never won a World Series.

On the plus side, Biggio has spent his entire career with one organization and his career stats across many categories exceed a number of other Hall-of-Fame second basemen, including Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg.

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