Monday evening, the New York Yankees’ Alfonso Soriano became the seventh player in major league history to reach 1,000 hits in both the American and National Leagues, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Soriano singled to center field on a 1-2 pitch off of New York Mets starter Bartolo Colon in the bottom of the second inning, then came around to score later in the frame on Brett Gardner’s second career grand slam as the Yankees took a 4-1 lead in the game.
The hit was also Soriano’s 1,000th in the American League, and that tally complements 1,077 more in the National League for a career total of 2,077. Only six other major leaguers have matched Soriano’s feat:
Frank Robinson: AL-1184, NL-1759
Dave Winfield: AL-1976, NL-1134
Vladimir Guerrero: AL-1375, NL-1215
Fred McGriff: AL-1347, NL-1143
Orlando Cabrera: AL-1035, NL-1020
Carlos Lee: AL-1240, NL-1033
Soriano, a 16-year veteran, is on his second stint with the Yankees, as he came up in the organization in the late 1990s and played for the Bronx Bombers from 1999-2003. He was then sent to the Texas Rangers—with whom he’d spend two seasons—in the trade that brought Alex Rodriguez to New York.
Following a year with the Washington Nationals and six-plus seasons with the Chicago Cubs, the former second baseman landed back in New York last July, when the Cubs traded him to the Yankees.
As the Yankees’ designated hitter, Soriano did not start in the three games this past weekend in Milwaukee against the Brewers, and prior to Tuesday’s game, the slumping slugger had only three hits in his previous 20 plate appearances.
He may be showing his age at 38 years old, but Soriano slugged 17 home runs in just 58 games with the Yankees last season, showing that he’s still got something left in the tank.
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