Career hit leaders for each team
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Sep 09, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Current Franchise Hits Leaders
Arizona: Luis Gonzalez – 1,337
Atlanta: Hank Aaron – 3,600
Baltimore: Cal Ripken, Jr. – 3,184
Boston: Carl Yastrzemksi – 3,419
Chicago (AL): Luke Appling – 2,749
Chicago (NL): Ernie Banks – 2,583
Cincinnati: Pete Rose – 3,358
Cleveland: Nap Lajoie – 2,046
Colorado: Todd Helton – 2,110
Detroit: Ty Cobb – 3,902
Florida: Luis Castillo – 1,273
Houston: Craig Biggio – 3,060
Kansas City: George Brett – 3,154
Los Angeles (AL): Garrett Anderson – 2,368
Los Angeles (NL): Zack Wheat – 2,804
Milwaukee: Robin Yount – 3,142
Minnesota: Sam Rice – 2,889
New York (AL): Lou Gehrig – 2,721
New York (NL): Ed Kranepool – 1,418
Oakland: Bert Campaneris – 1,882
Philadelphia: Mike Schmidt – 2,234
Pittsburgh: Roberto Clemente – 3,000
San Diego: Tony Gwynn – 3,141
San Francisco: Willie Mays – 3,187
Seattle: Edgar Martinez – 2,247
St. Louis: Stan Musial – 3,630
Tampa Bay: Carl Crawford – 1,270
Texas: Ivan Rodriguez – 1,734
Toronto: Tony Fernandez – 1,583
Washington: Tim Wallach – 1,694
Two things that jump out at me: It’s amazing given their history that the Yankees didn’t have somebody collect 3,000 hits along the way. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle walked so often and Joe DiMaggio only played 13 seasons.
Meanwhile, pretty sad that the Mets have never had somebody stick around long enough to collect even 1,500 hits. Kranepool was a .261 hitter who made the All-Star team once and never had more than 133 hits in a season.
It’s sort of a strange record to celebrate in terms of the Yankees. It’s as much a testament to good health and perseverance as it is to talent. The guy who seems least interested is Derek Jeter.
Makes you realize just what a feat 3000 hits is
The names on that list who have over 3,000 hits with a single team are some of the greatest to ever play the game. When Jeter gets there (And he will) he will seem out of place now but he belongs there.
The lack of a 3,000 hit member on the Yankees isn’t as much of a shock as the career leader in pitching wins is Ford’s 236 or the fact that they have no pitchers with 2,000 strikeouts (Ford’s total of 1956).
When I posted this morning that it was ridiculous that the media was making such a big deal of this, it was with John Harper’s article in mind. Thanks, Murphydog, for saying what I wanted to say more eloquently than I could have said it.
Anyone that thinks Jeter is pressing because of the record doesn’t know this man or hasn’t followed him for his career. He’s been in ridiculously high pressure spots for over a decade – and he’s going to press NOW, chasing a record that will surely be his? I don’t think so.
Ed Kranepool?!? It IS hard to believe the Mets don’t even have someone with even 1,500 hits. Makes you realize how much someone like a Strawberry wasted his talent. I’m also surprised a franchise as old as Cleveland doesn’t have someone with more than 2,046 hits. Thanks for posting this list, Peter.
as francesa said yesterday, this record is over hyped and a “jeter created milestone”
Wow, don’t think that Tigers record will ever be broken.
I keep getting cut off at the pass because the blog turns over, and I just cannot cut and paste, but wanted to say,
murphydog I have enjoyed your inspired posting over the last couple of days! Great slice of life on Stadium the other day (forgive my resistance to cutting and pasting when it turns over) and John Harper commentary. To me, his has often been a sanctimonious, purple prose read that I just skip over.
And his read on Jeter is an epic fail.
The Tigers had a lot great hitters.
Mac Daddy
September 9th, 2009 at 11:44 am
as francesa said yesterday, this record is over hyped and a “jeter created milestone”
And Francessa kept saying it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Mad Dog solo > Francessa solo
Cardinals record is also very good, but you have to figure Albert will take that down if he stays.
Free agency will also be a reason that many of those records won’t fall. How many players stay with one team their entire career anymore?
Mac Daddy
September 9th, 2009 at 11:44 am
as francesa said yesterday, this record is over hyped and a “jeter created milestone”
====
francesa is over hyped and a media created moron, pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Tim Wallach with Washington, boy the expos are really a forgotten franchise.
Bad Scooter
What are you talking about? Mike never ever repeats himself. mike never ever repeats himself. LOL
If he doesn’t say something once he says it 20 times. Oops make that 20,000 times.
“as francesa said yesterday, this record is over hyped and a “jeter created milestone”
Typical Francesca fanboy spouting nonsense just like their Diet Coke swilling hero.
My uncle claims to like Mike. Thinks he is very knowledgeable. But I think he is busting me since he knows how much I cannot stand him. lol Either that or he’s fallen off his rocker.
Reyes and Wright will blow past Kranepool in 3 years, if they’re still with the Mets.
Since free agency, any player getting 1500 hits with any one team is more about locking up players pre-free agency or being a franchise that is willing to take on the salaries of their own players who become free agent eligible.
Players now who start and end their careers with the same team is excepton and not the norm so many records that require longeity are going to be pretty safe.
Some woman called Francesa yesterday and told him, “he used to be a Yankee fan” which I thought was pretty funny and accurate.
is excepton = is the exception
“Wow, don’t think that Tigers record will ever be broken.”
Prime,
I think what gets over looked is if Jeter wants, he can stay around long enough to say the same about NYY.
If he plays 5 more years and stays healthy, he would be around 3500-3600 hits. Thats a conservative number.
Alan Trammell has 2,365 hits. This still only ranks 7th in Tiger history.
Pujoles won’t catch Stan Musial unless he starts racking up a few 200 hit seasons.
Ty Cobb, although one of the best players in history, was simply a rotten person. If anyone hasn’t read about him, you probably should. Some of the stories are crazy. He is basically a murderer. It’s funny that guys like him are in the Hall of Fame with no questions asked, yet steroids mean you are barred for life. Which is worse, being a miserable racist lowlife, or doing steroids? Hmmmmmmmmmmm
As far as the hits total, Lou Gehrig would’ve had 3000 hits if he didn’t get sick while Joe D. might have been close if it wasn’t for WWII.
I agree that Jeter can (and likely will) put the number out of reach. The remarkable thing is that the Tigers record will have stood for an extra 100 years, by the time Jeter is done and that streak starts. The only Yankee even on the radar after Jeter is Cano. He’ll be 27 in Oct and should have roughly 870 by then. A long shot, but a better chance than anyone else if he stays.
Pujols is 29 and he keeps getting better. He’s a machine, so I wouldn’t put any record past him.
PD
September 9th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Ty Cobb, although one of the best players in history, was simply a rotten person. If anyone hasn’t read about him, you probably should. Some of the stories are crazy. He is basically a murderer. It’s funny that guys like him are in the Hall of Fame with no questions asked, yet steroids mean you are barred for life. Which is worse, being a miserable racist lowlife, or doing steroids? Hmmmmmmmmmmm
————————————————————
Cobb was a lot of things, but, murderer isn’t one of them.
I’m a little more shocked at the team leaders for Cleveland, Oakland and Philadelphia. Thee organizations that have been around for more than a century.
like or dislike him, hes dead on about this.
Thee = Three.
B.E. Earl
September 9th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I’m a little more shocked at the team leaders for Cleveland, Oakland and Philadelphia. Thee organizations that have been around for more than a century.
————————————————————
They never kept their best players around long enough. They always traded them off for money and cheap players.
The only person I can see making a run at Jeter is not on the team yet. Montero may have a shot if he becomes the hitter everyone says he can be along with staying healthy.
Who’da thunk Seattle might end up with a 3,000 hit player before this list of old and reasonably old teams: Mets, Indians, Dodgers, A’s, Phillies, Cubbies, White Sox and Twins.
Ichiro stands a good chance of getting to 3,000 in the US game.
Ok, so now we’re predicting guys with 0 Yankees hits to surpass Jeter?
The future, Conan?
YES! All the way into the year 2000!
Great post. I think I count 15 teams whose record holder is higher than where Jeter is now. I’ll have to track when he passes most of them.
Ed Kranepool rocks!
The only non-Yankee player ever whose baseball cards I collected, just because he was cool and played in New York, got some due in the New York edition of the Times yesterday, and the headline writer knows how to pay a compliment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09.....ref=sports
Jeter has a shot at passing Musial and Hank Aaron, but not Cobb. Amazing. BTW, could care less about when and where and how much of slump this record is causing him. If Jete gets a game winning hit in the World series or gets us to the World series with a hit…that’s what really counts. I’d love to see that happen this year more than anything else.
Ted Williams, the greatest hitter in baseball history, didn’t have 3000 hits — nor did he ever have 200 hits in a season. It’s an overrated stat. It means you were a GOOD hitter that stayed healthy enough to last a long time — and you didn’t walk a lot. Much more about hanging around than being a GREAT hitter. And I’m a Yankee fan — and a Jeter fan. There’s been too much mythology — and money — attributed to Jeter. He’s not a Gehrig, not a Dimaggio — more like a Yount, Molitor, Trammell or Alomar. He was just fortunate enough to play SS for the Yankees during a dynasty.
I think ARod also deserves attention regarding number of hits. He reached 2500 this season at almost the same age as Jeter did. He’ll finish this season at around 2530. If he plays the remaining 8 years of his contract and averages 170 hits per season, he’ll wind up with around 3900.
Oakland(KC/Phi) is the only non-expansion team under 2000. Looked at a few like Eddie Collins, Al Simmons; their Phi A’s totals were less than Campy, Mack just dealt them in mid-career.
The Twins record is for a Washington Senators player, it should be pointed out…
Kirby Puckett has the most hits in a Twins uniform, but we’ll see what Joe Mauer can do (assuming he’s not a Yankee by 2012).
The thing thar stuck out to me was Jeter already has more hits than Ernie Banks
Players that Jeter has passed this year:
Rank Player (age) Hits Bats
55. Rusty Staub 2716 L
56. Bill Buckner 2715 L
57. Dave Parker 2712 L
58. Billy Williams+ 2711 L
59. Doc Cramer 2705 L
60. Omar Vizquel (42) 2701 B
61. Ivan Rodriguez (37) 2700 R
62. Gary Sheffield (40) 2689 R
63. Luis Aparicio+ 2677 R
64. Fred Clarke+ 2672 L
65. Max Carey+ 2665 B
66. Nellie Fox+ 2663 L
67. George Davis+ 2660 B
Harry Heilmann+ 2660 R
69. Ted Williams+ 2654 L
70. Jimmie Foxx+ 2646 R
71. Lave Cross 2645 R
72. Jim O’Rourke+ 2643 R
73. Rabbit Maranville+ 2605 R
Tim Raines 2605 B
75. Steve Garvey 2599 R
76. Ed Delahanty+ 2596 R
77. Luis Gonzalez (41) 2591 L
78. Julio Franco 2586 R
79. Reggie Jackson+ 2584 L
80. Ernie Banks+ 2583 R
81. Richie Ashburn+ 2574 L
82. Willie Davis 2561 L
83. Steve Finley 2548 L
+ = HoFer
Tim Wallach never hit for Washington — I assume they count Montreal.
Seattle: Edgar Martinez – 2,247
_______________________________
Well there’s one likely to be broken by next season
Well done and extremely interesting about the Mets.
TC
I’m surprised the Oakland/Philadelphia Athletics’ career leader is Bert Campaneris with only 1,882 hits. Goes to show you that historically, the A’s best players tend to leave the A’s for greener pastures.
I think Cap Anson tops Banks with 2995 hits as a Cubs franchise… they were the White Stockings and the Colts during Ansons time with the team.
Should not Cap Anson be the Chicago NL leader?
Also [through 2008] there is a 0.64 correlation between how high the hit leader is and how many years the franchise existed for.
Using a linear trendline on the data, the Rockies’ leader at 1957 hits (again, 2009 data excluded) puts them at an expected age of nearly 57 years, despite only 16 years of existance. Which brings up that aa hit park factor probably would be needed to make good comparisons between teams. I’d guess some portion of the extra 41 years that is predicted by Helton’s 1957 hits is because he benefited from a great hitters’ park.
Likewise, the A’s leader projects the team to an age of 54 years despite being 108 years old (trough 2008). Some of that is probably because for alot of their history they had moderate to strong pitchers’ parks.
The R2 is 0.41, so about 40% of having a single player with a ton of hits for your franchise has to do with how long the franchise exists for.
That’s as good a reason why Craig Biggio belongs in the hall of fame as any.
Ted Williams would have had around 3500 hits if he hadn’t lost 5 years in his prime because he was doing something truly heroic, fighting wars for our country.
Players can only break records that are set for them. While it’s amazing the Yankees’ all time record for hits is lower than other teams, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Jeter is now the all time leader on the most hallowed team in sports.
I can’t stand the Yankees–simply because I’m jealous of their success–but I love Derek Jeter. An all time great who has not just succeeded but thrived under the most intense spotlight in the game and done so with class. His play in Oakland in 2001 was simply glorious, his career magnificent.
He’s played 15 years now. We should all take in what we’re watching, one of baseball’s greatest in the last days of his career, imprinting his final legacy on the game, the record books, and our memories.