So close: These 11 just missed milestones

Humans love their spherical numbers, and baseball gamers are not any exception.

Five hundred house runs and three,000 hits stay sacred for hitters, as do 300 wins and three,000 strikeouts for pitchers. More superior types of evaluation have decreased the emphasis on conventional counting stats, however these hallowed milestones nonetheless have loads of cache inside the sport.

As gamers transfer into the late levels of their careers, these spherical numbers present a goal — one thing to shoot for earlier than the time comes to hold ’em up. Of course, that doesn’t imply each participant in such a scenario is ready to get there in time.

Here are 11 stars who got here up simply in need of reaching a serious milestone.

Lou Gehrig: 493 house runs, 1,994 RBIs
This is a narrative as tragic as it’s well-known. Had The Iron Horse’s physique not so cruelly betrayed him, there isn’t a doubt he would have blown nicely previous 500 homers and a pair of,000 RBIs, and fairly presumably 3,000 hits as nicely. (He completed with 2,721). But Gehrig started feeling weak and listless, his manufacturing dropped, and ultimately he was recognized with ALS, the debilitating illness with which he would come to be so carefully related. He would by no means play one other sport and died simply shy of his thirty eighth birthday in 1941, although not earlier than giving his well-known speech at Yankee Stadium during which he proclaimed himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Despite the untimely finish to his profession, Gehrig nonetheless ranks fifth all-time in RBIs, per the official accounting of the Elias Sports Bureau.

Al Kaline: 399 house runs, 498 doubles
Kaline is perhaps one of many Hall of Fame’s most underrated gamers, and arising simply in need of a few milestones definitely could possibly be a part of that. Mr. Tiger did handle to squeeze throughout the three,000-hit barrier late in his closing season in 1974, ending with 3,007. But whereas his longevity definitely bolstered his profession totals, Kaline’s energy numbers additionally suffered from spending his prime in a pitcher-friendly surroundings. He additionally battled varied accidents that restricted him to a mean of 125 video games over his final 13 seasons, not that they stopped him from turning into a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1980.

Fred McGriff: 493 house runs
Only Gehrig acquired as shut as McGriff to the five hundred mark with out reaching it. It appeared as if the Crime Dog would get there when he went deep 30 instances at age 38 for the 2002 Cubs. But after a decade and a half of enviable sturdiness, he fought accidents and added simply 13 to his whole in 86 video games for the ’03 Dodgers. McGriff acquired yet another likelihood the following 12 months with Tampa Bay, however he struggled mightily and was launched in July. However, it is price noting that the 1994 strike might nicely have been the distinction, as McGriff had 34 homers when that season resulted in August. After falling in need of the Hall of Fame through the writers’ poll, McGriff was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee in December 2022.

Andrés Galarraga: 399 house runs
The Big Cat was higher than you keep in mind, a gifted hitter whose profession was a little bit of a roller-coaster journey. Galarraga had all of 116 homers by way of age 31, earlier than issues took off upon a transfer to Colorado. Galarraga then remained an efficient hitter till he was 43, regardless of lacking all of 1999 and far of 2004 whereas twice overcoming most cancers. Galarraga hit his 399th homer on Oct. 1, 2004, and signed with the Mets that December, however along with his roster spot doubtful amidst a troublesome Spring Training in ’05, he stepped away. “I just wasn’t playing up to the expectations that I have set for myself throughout my entire career, and I wanted to walk away on my own terms,” Galarraga mentioned.

Dale Murphy: 398 house runs
Few have been nearly as good of their primes as Murphy, a two-time National League MVP Award winner whose 310 homers by way of age 31 in 1987 put him proper in keeping with Hall of Fame sluggers corresponding to Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey, Eddie Murray and Frank Thomas. But Murphy wasn’t in a position to keep that tempo. He added 86 homers within the subsequent 4 seasons regardless of taking part in almost day-after-day, then two extra in 1992, whereas a knee harm restricted him to 18 video games. Murphy latched on with the growth ’93 Rockies to provide it yet another go, however he went homerless in 26 video games, preempting his possible launch by retiring.

Luis Gonzalez: 596 doubles
Only 18 gamers have hit 600 doubles, and no one has gotten nearer to that mark with out reaching it than Gonzalez. Known extra for his 57-homer eruption in 2001 or his World Series-winning bloop single that very same 12 months, Gonzalez is one in every of 13 gamers to hit 45 two-baggers in 4 totally different seasons, together with a career-high 52 in 2006. Even at age 40 with the 2008 Marlins, he notched 26 doubles in 387 plate appearances, however that wasn’t fairly sufficient to get to 600. Gonzalez needed to maintain taking part in in ’09, however he by no means discovered a deal and retired to hitch the D-backs’ entrance workplace, the place he stays.

Ian Kinsler: 1,999 hits
Dead Ball Era third baseman Jimmy Collins additionally completed with 1,999 hits, and he’s within the Hall of Fame, so maybe that’s signal for the underrated Kinsler. The four-time All-Star second baseman regarded like guess to achieve 2,000 hits when he signed a two-year cope with the Padres previous to the 2019 season, needing solely 57 extra knocks. But Kinsler batted .217, and a again harm took him out of motion for the final a number of weeks of ’19, then helped push him to retire and be a part of San Diego’s entrance workplace after the season. “My pride wouldn’t let me go halfway at something that I’ve been doing at 100 percent for my whole baseball life,” he informed The Athletic.

Tommy John: 288 wins
With the exception of Roger Clemens — for causes having nothing to do along with his pitching document — every of the 24 pitchers with 300 victories is within the Hall of Fame. And no pitcher for the reason that flip of the twentieth century has gotten nearer to that mark with out reaching it than John. It was hardly for lack of effort. The left-hander toiled within the large leagues for 26 seasons, the ultimate 14 of which got here after Dr. Frank Jobe reconstructed his ulnar collateral ligament in a process that might come to bear John’s identify. But he had a 5.80 ERA in 10 begins for the Yankees in 1989 earlier than getting launched on the finish of May, quickly after his forty sixth birthday. He hoped to hook on with one other staff, however not due to the milestone. “I play because I love the game and I love to pitch,” John informed The New York Times. But he by no means acquired one other likelihood.

Bert Blyleven: 287 wins
After 14 years on the Hall of Fame poll, and with the staunch assist and spirited campaigning of baseball’s burgeoning sabermetric group, Blyleven lastly made it to Cooperstown in 2011, having labored his method up from a low of 14.1% of the vote. But the combat may not have been fairly so powerful had Blyleven squeezed out simply 13 extra victories over his 22 MLB seasons — just a few of which had been spent with playoff groups. Unfortunately for Blyleven, after a resurgent 1989 season at age 38, shoulder issues plagued him the following 12 months and stored him out for all of ’91. Blyleven made yet another comeback in ’92 that yielded his closing eight wins and signed with the Twins heading into ’93. But spring struggles derailed his bid for a roster spot. “Sure, I wanted 300 wins, but it’s not really that big of a deal,” Blyleven informed the Los Angeles Times. “The thing that’s important is that I gave everything I had to try to achieve that goal.”

Billy Pierce: 1,999 strikeouts
A 5-foot-10, 160-pound lefty, Pierce didn’t essentially have the look of a strikeout pitcher, however he threw arduous and led the American League in Ok’s for the 1953 White Sox. That was one in every of Pierce’s seven All-Star seasons, the final coming in ’61, when hip and shoulder accidents actually started to eat into his innings and his strikeout potential. Pierce labored principally as a reliever for his closing two seasons, and his two Ok’s in three innings on Oct. 3, 1964, left him only one shy of two,000. The 37-year-old was very nicely conscious of that standing however nonetheless introduced his retirement on the finish of the season, saying he now not needed to be away from his household.

Johan Santana: 1,988 strikeouts
Santana’s strikeout whole is an indication of two issues: his unbelievable expertise, and the accidents that worn out most of his 30s. The lefty had extra strikeouts by way of age 31 (1,877) than Justin Verlander, who went on to turn out to be the 18th member of the three,000-Ok membership in 2019. And no pitcher to complete his profession with lower than 2,300 innings racked up extra Ok’s than Santana. Unfortunately, the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner handled a number of shoulder surgical procedures and a torn Achilles tendon and pitched simply 21 video games after that age-31 season. Comeback makes an attempt with the Orioles and Blue Jays faltered, and regardless of his elite peak, Santana fell off the Hall of Fame poll after getting solely 2.4% of the vote in his first 12 months.