Each season is another chance for MLB’s extraordinarily talented players to show us all they can achieve. Going into this year, it’s always fun to predict which career milestones he’ll reach or surpass in his next 162 games. But over the course of the season, it also breaks the single-season mark that we wouldn’t have even seen coming.
A look back at nine players who achieved milestones in the 2022 season.
Albert Pujols: 703 HR, 9th all-time hits, 2nd all-time bases, 3rd in slugging
Going into this year, I knew Pujols would keep my Milestone watch all summer long. He was hitting his 679 homers, but the main question is whether he will pass Alex Rodriguez’s 696 homers to take him fourth on the list, or reach his rare 700. That was it. He hit 699 and his 700 in the same game at his stadium on September 23 against Dodgers, marking his 703th home run for the fourth all-time. He also rose from 11th all-time to his ninth with 3,384 hits, according to Elias Sports his bureau. Pujols finished his career with 6,211 all-time bases, finishing fifth after Henry He was his second behind Aaron (6,856). And he moved up from fourth to third in slugging (1,405).
Miguel Cabrera: 3,000 hits
Sticking to the aforementioned hits list, Cabrera reached the 3,000-hit club with just 13 knocks, which he achieved on April 23rd. He became his 33rd member of the exclusive group. Cabrera, who became his 28th individual to hit his 500th home run in 2011, joins another small list by accomplishing both feats. He is the seventh player to reach 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, joining Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Rafael Palmeiro, Eddie Murray, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron.
Adam Wainwright & Yadier Molina: Most run as batteries
The Cardinals’ dynamic duo entered the season with 304 starts as a pitcher and catcher, the fourth most common regular-season starting battery since 1900. Along the way, they overtook Redfaber and Ray Schalk (306 starts), Warren Spahn and Del Crandall (316 starts), and finally Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan (324 starts), who he passed on September 14th. rice field. A future pitcher/catcher who could challenge the St. Louis legends sets a high bar for his duo.
Clayton Kershaw: All-time strikeout leader in Dodgers history
Files below: Things that make sense in baseball. Kershaw entered his 22nd year with 27 strikeouts, just overtaking Don Sutton’s 2,696, the all-time Dodgers record. Kershaw recorded his 2,697th on April 30 against the Tigers, finishing the year with 2,807 strikeouts. He’s back in his 23rd year in Los Angeles for more. This only pushes that mark further for current and future Dodgers pitchers to contend for higher positions on the list.
Aaron Judge: AL Single Season Home Run Record
This is one of the things we didn’t plan for this year. This will always be on Judge’s resume going forward, but unlike the other milestones mentioned so far, it’s a one-season mark rather than career cumulative. 62 home runs in 1961, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 homers since 1961, Judge did so 61 years later. He became his 10th player to record at least his 50 home runs in multiple seasons.
Shohei Ohtani: 30 home runs, 200 strikeouts
Ohtani, who hit 34 home runs and recorded a career-high 219 strikeouts for a pitcher, cannot be considered milestones and achievements. He became the first player to record at least his 30 home runs at bat and his 200 strikeouts on the mound in a season. The most home runs ever in a 200-throw strikeout season were his seven: Earl Wilson (1966), Don He Drysdale (’65), and Jack Stivetts (1890 and ’91). . The most strikeouts by a pitcher in a 30-home run season so far was 156, which Ohtani recorded in 1921. before that? The third is by Babe Ruth in 1930 and his 21.
Julio Rodriguez: Fastest 15 home runs, 20 stolen bases.25 wins and 25 losses in debut season
On July 4, Rodriguez hit 15 home runs in the 81st game of his career. He had already reached his 20 stolen bases. So the home run made him the fastest player in his career with 15 and 20 games. On Sept. 14, he swiped his 25th bag and hit his 26th home run, becoming the third rookie of the 25-25 season, after Mike Trout (2012) and Chris Young (’07). rice field. But unlike his two rookies who debuted a year before him, Rodriguez was entering his first season in the MLB. He is the only player to record his 25 home runs and his 25 stolen bases in his first season.
Gerrit Cole: Yankees season 3 strikeout record
This mark seemed destined to go down at some point once Cole joined the Yankees. In 2021, he has struck out his 243 batters. At the time, he was the second-most hitter in franchise history behind Guidley’s 248 hitters in 1978. Cole set a record 22 years and marked 257 hitters. It was a well-known spot for strikeouts for Cole, who set the same for the Astros in 19 with 326. Johnson (Mariners, Diamondbacks), Lube Waddell (A’s, Browns/Orioles).
