Michael Young Nails 2,000 Career Hits Over a Decade

Congratulations to Michael Young for accumulating 2,000 hits over his major league career during his Texas Rangers' 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

The All-Star third baseman entered the game with 1,998 career hits and nailed two infield singles down the third-base line in the fifth and seventh innings off Indians starter Josh Tomlin. Fun fact: His first big league hit came on May 27, 2001, off Baltimore Orioles' right-hander Sidney Ponson, who eventually got too fat to play baseball.

Only two right-handed hitters, and 10 overall in the last century, have reached the 2,000-hit mark faster than Young, who accomplished the feat in his 1,621st career game.

He's also pretty awesome in general, batting .336 with 10 homers and 76 RBI on the season. Rangers manager Ron Washington had some pretty nice things to say about his milestone-reacher:

"He's been consistent and he's showed up every day and played. It just shows that he's a grinder. Health has a lot to do with it. He stayed healthy. Undoubtedly he had to learn how to play through some mishaps to get to this point... The good ones do. They always do, and he's a real good one."

Here's something kind of super special for Young to consider: nine out of the other ten rightys who reached 2,000 hits faster than he did are Hall of Famers: Lou Gehrig, Wade Boggs, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, Al Simmons, George Sisler, Lloyd Waner, and Tris Speaker. The tenth is Ichiro Suzuki, a shoo-in. Does this mean Young is Hall-bound?

[MLB]