Houston Astros' José Altuve Becomes Fastest Player in MLB History to Achieve Major Feat
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Houston Astros second baseman José Altuve joined an exclusive club when he recorded his 2,000th career hit Saturday night, but that wasn't the only way he made history.
Altuve went 3-for-5 against the Seattle Mariners, and he now has 2,001 hits since he reached the majors in 2011. Coming into the game, Altuve also had 201 home runs and 291 stolen bases over the course of his career.
According to MLB Stats, Altuve became the fastest player in league history to reach 2,000 hits, 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases, doing so in 1,631 games.
San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays was the previous record-holder at 1,669 games, while superstar Alex Rodriguez achieved the feat in 1,684. Cincinnati Reds outfielder Vada Pinson and Chicago Cubs infielder Ryne Sandberg round out the rest of the top five.
There are now 34 players in the 2,000-200-200 club.
Altuve is batting .325 with a .952 OPS with a month left in his age 33 season. Injuries cost the former AL MVP and two-time World Series champion his ninth All-Star appearance this year, as he has been limited to just 57 games in 2023.
Saturday night's game between the Astros and Mariners made additional headlines for reasons outside of Altuve's accomplishments, with the two teams getting into a benches-clearing brawl after ace Framber Valdez plunked infielder Jose Caballero.
The Mariners went on to win 10-3, notching their fifth-straight win and clinching the series victory in the process. The Astros, on the other hand, have lost four of their last six.
Houston and Seattle currently hold the second and third AL Wild Card spots, respectively, with the former leading the latter in the standings by 1.5 games.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled to get underway at 1:05 p.m. ET.
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