Jose Altuve On His Way To 4000?

There is one stat in Major League Baseball that almost ensures entrance into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. - 3000 hits. There have been only 31 players in the long history of the game who have reached 3000 or more hits.  So, with all of the great hitters in the game, for only 31 to have accomplished that feat, you know what an incredible achievement 3000 hits is.  The man with the most hits in the game is Cincinnati Reds "Mr. Hustle", Pete Rose.  He not only got over the 3000 hit mark, he went over 4000 hits, ending his career with 4256.  Pete Rose and the Detroit Tigers Ty Cobb who had 4191 hits are the only two players in history with more than 4000 hits.  

Ty Cobb - # 2 in hits with 4191

Pete Rose - hit leader with 4256

Will there ever be another player to reach the 4000 hit mark?  There is a player on the Houston Astros who could possibly be the third player to reach the 4000 hit mark - All Star second baseman, Jose Altuve.  

Today, for the incredible 21st time this year, Jose Altuve had 3 or more hits in a game to reach the number 1200 hits for his short career.  If you are wondering how this compares to Pete Rose number this early in his career, the Astros broadcast showed that comparison through their first 935 games, [that did not include today's game where Altuve got three more hits]. 

As you can see, in the same period of time, Jose Altuve actually has 57 more hits than Pete Rose and he is also almost 10 months younger than Rose at that time. That's another way of saying Jose Altuve is on a pace that exceeds Pete Rose's 4256 hits.

Jose Altuve - the Venezuelan hitting machine

Of course, Pete Rose played between 1963 - 1986 or 23 years, so health and longevity is the key, but if Jose Altuve can remain healthy and without a major injury, it is not out of the realm of possibility the best hitter in the game today could be the third player in the history of the game to reach the 4000 hit mark.

Also, amazingly, Jose Altuve, besides being a hitting machine, has some power for such a little guy.  Pete Rose finished with 160 home runs and 1314 RBI's.  Jose Altuve already has 76 home runs and 384 RBI's in his career.  He would smash Rose's number of home runs and also [although it would be much closer] end up with more RBI's than Rose, if he could maintain this pace and have longevity.

I like to say that Jose Altuve, the pride of Venezuela, is the little big man.