The Nick Markakis 2,000th hit countdown thread

[Frobby]

NIck’s lead in the all star voting has increased to over 300,000 votes.   Voting closes in 9 days, hoping he hangs in there.   

[Moshagge3]

I want to root for Atlanta because of Nick and sticking it to the Nationals, but then I tune in and see fans doing the Tomahawk Chop and I'm like, nah.

[Frobby]

Nick got his 2,159th hit tonight, putting him in sole possession of the no. 200 spot on the all time hit list.    In his next ten hits he’ll pass Larry Walker, Sliding Billy Hamilton, and Dick Bartell.

All star voting ends Thursday and Nick continues to lead all NL outfielders by a good margin.   

[Frobby]

Nick was voted a starting OF on the NL all star team tonight.    2nd most votes of any NL player.   I’m so happy for the guy.

 

[Aglets]

Thrilled for him.    If I do watch the game next week it will likely be just to see him.......can't imagine I'll watch much after the starters get pulled.

[weams]

 

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, weams said:

 

Nice article.    Nick just passed Pee Wee Reese at 2,171 hits for 195th place.   Next: Will Clark at 2,176.    

[Frobby]

After a big day yesterday, Nick is at 2180 hits, 194th all time.  In his next five hits he’ll pass Keith Hernandez and Joe Carter.

He’s leading the NL in hits and doubles and is second in BA.

[Ohfan67]

More fun: 96th on the career doubles list. Not bad. 36th in career assists from RF. Very nice career. I hope he gets to play at least two more years. 

[Moose Milligan]

If he could snag a batting title somehow this year, that'd be awesome.

[Frobby]

On 8/2/2018 at 8:50 AM, Ohfan67 said:

More fun: 96th on the career doubles list. Not bad. 36th in career assists from RF. Very nice career. I hope he gets to play at least two more years. 

Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt he plays two more years.    He’s having a career year and is one of the most durable players in MLB.   He’ll get one more multi-year contract.    

[25 Nuggets]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt he plays two more years.    He’s having a career year and is one of the most durable players in MLB.   He’ll get one more multi-year contract.    

I can definitely see him pass 2500 hits but I dunno about 3000.  He'd have to play to age 40.  Eh, maybe?

He's having his best season since age 24.  That's pretty eye popping.

[25 Nuggets]

To me, Markakis is turning into a classic Hall of Very Good player.

In regards to the Hall of Fame, I tend to look at the entirety of major league players as a bell curve.  Hall of Famers (legit ones) are one line of demarcation - above that are the top, inner circle HoFers - and below is a larger group of maybe the best thousand players in history.  If you're around the 800th best player in history, you're a solid HoVG-er.  And if you look at similar batters through age 33, you see a who's who list:

1. 910.1 Johnny Damon
2. 909.2 Cesar Cedeno
3. 898.6 Buddy Bell
4. 888.7 Gary Matthews
5. 884.4 Al Oliver
6. 878.7 Willie Davis
7. 870.0 Keith Hernandez
8. 869.6 Carney Lansford
9. 867.4 Claudell Washington
10. 864.7 Chet Lemon

Every one of those guys are pieces you'd want to have on your team for a long time.  I happen to think one of them - Keith Hernandez - should be in Cooperstown but that's because of his added defense.  Two of these players approached 3000 hits:  Johnny Damon (2769 - played through age 38) and Al Oliver (2743 - also age 38).

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, 25 Nuggets said:

To me, Markakis is turning into a classic Hall of Very Good player.

In regards to the Hall of Fame, I tend to look at the entirety of major league players as a bell curve.  Hall of Famers (legit ones) are one line of demarcation - above that are the top, inner circle HoFers - and below is a larger group of maybe the best thousand players in history.  If you're around the 800th best player in history, you're a solid HoVG-er.  And if you look at similar batters through age 33, you see a who's who list:

1. 910.1 Johnny Damon
2. 909.2 Cesar Cedeno
3. 898.6 Buddy Bell
4. 888.7 Gary Matthews
5. 884.4 Al Oliver
6. 878.7 Willie Davis
7. 870.0 Keith Hernandez
8. 869.6 Carney Lansford
9. 867.4 Claudell Washington
10. 864.7 Chet Lemon

Every one of those guys are pieces you'd want to have on your team for a long time.  I happen to think one of them - Keith Hernandez - should be in Cooperstown but that's because of his added defense.  Two of these players approached 3000 hits:  Johnny Damon (2769 - played through age 38) and Al Oliver (2743 - also age 38).

I think Markakis very much fits in that group.    I give him a 5-10% chance to reach 3000 hits.    What makes him interesting is he’s been soooooo durable.    Year in, year out, 155+ games.    If he could do that for five more years, I think his hit tool would stay sharp enough for him to reach 3000.    But (1) he may get more injury prone, or just need more rest, as he progresses from his mid 30’s to his late 30’s, and (2) if his 2018 power surge is a one-year phenomenon, and he slips back to have a .100ish ISO, he may have difficulty finding a team that wants to play him 155 games a year.    But his 2018 performance has improved his chances significantly.   

[Frobby]

Big day for Nick yesterday — 4 for 5 with a 10th inning homer that stood up for the winning run.    He’s up to 2187 hits, 192nd on the all time list, and in his next 10 hits he’ll pass Larry Bowa, Cecil Cooper, Stan Hack, Bill Terry, and Jason Kendall.