Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu played the 162nd game of his career Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to join Rudy York, Chuck Klein and Ryan Braun as the only players in MLB history with a .300 batting average, 40 home runs and 120 RBI through 162 games, per ESPN Stats & Info.
After recording one hit and one RBI in four at-bats during Sunday’s 5-3 victory, the 28-year-old Cuban has a .316 batting average, 41 home runs and 121 RBI for his career.
Per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com), Klein is the only player to best Abreu in each of those three categories through 162 games, having produced a .361 batting average, 44 homers and 129 RBI at the same stage in his career.
Klein did his damage for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1928 and 1929, with the second of those seasons starting a five-year stretch in which he led the National League in homers four times.
While he would go on to have a few more strong seasons, the Hall of Fame slugger was notable for his early peak, as he never hit more than 25 homers in a year after 1933, despite doing so in five straight seasons from 1929 to 1933.
York also had an early peak, but in his case, it wasn’t quite enough to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, as the catcher’s later years were overwhelmingly mediocre.
The group is rounded out by Braun, who also seems to be headed for a career that’s largely notable for its early peak. While it’s perhaps too soon to cast such a judgement on the Brewers outfielder, Braun simply hasn’t been the same player since serving his suspension in 2013.
Abreu surely hopes to have better longevity than the three players that preceded him, but it may be asking a bit much from a guy who made his MLB debut at the age of 27.
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