This Crazy Stat Explains the Surge in Robinson Cano Cards

Be honest. When's the last time you thought about your Robinson Cano cards? Very likely the answer is not since 2021 when the eight-time All-Star was saddled with a devastating PED suspension. Though he played briefly in 2022 with three different teams, for all intents and purposes his career was over. Or was it?

2007 Topps Heritage Robinson Cano | TCDB.com (click image for source page)

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Thanks to baseball researcher Adam Darowski, whose day job involves the popular Baseball-Reference website and Immaculate Grid game, there is a renewed interest, if not in some pockets downright hysteria, building around the former Yankees-Mariners superstar. (And note to Immaculate Gridders: feel free to use Cano in your Padres-Braves square as well.)

Adam Darowski presents his research at the SABR 53 convention in Dallas, Texas. | Jason A. Schwartz

The reason is simple. Cano may just be a weekend away from joining an exclusive club most closely associated with baseball immortals Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Ichiro: the 4,000-Hit Club. "4,000 hits?!" you say, checking Baseball-Reference to verify that Cano never even made it to 3,000. (His final MLB regular season total was "only" 2,639. Of course, that's the difference between most baseball fans and Adam. With the assistance of fellow "outsider baseball" research buffs Scott Simkus and Von Spalding, Darowski is counting ALL professional hits. This not only means the MLB postseason but the minor leagues, foreign leagues, and even international competitions like the World Baseball Classic.

Robinson Cano professional hit log showing 3995 total hits — Robinson Cano professional hit log | All data provided by Adam Darowski

Tally up the numbers, as Adam does daily, and Cano is sitting at 3,995 professional hits, only five away from the the magical milestone of 4,000 that could be accomplished as early as this weekend. His current team, the Diablos Rojos (or "Red Devils") are currently battling for a repeat title in the Liga Mexicana ("Mexican League") postseason.

Of course, Adam's research didn't begin and end with Cano. He and his research partners are on a quest to document EVERY member of the 4,000-Hit Club, an endeavor far more easily said than done. At the moment, club membership is at 21, more than double what it was a year ago thanks to the team's work, and of course the addition of Cano would bump it to 22.

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Then again, depending how many more games it takes Cano to collect his five hits, he may not be 23rd rather than 22nd. Adam and team are at this moment working to document yet another player who almost certainly will make the cut once all games have been accounted for.

2011 Topps Heritage Bombers' Double Play Duo (Derek Jeter / Robinson Cano) | TCDB.com (click image for source page)

Either way, Cano is just five hits away from joining Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Miggy Cabrera, and Yankees teammate Derek Jeter in one of the sport's most exclusive fraternities. Let's not even talk about what another 862 hits could mean to his legacy...and his rookie cards!