Mr. 3000: Angels first baseman Albert Pujols became the 32ndmember of the 3000 hit club on Friday night with a looping single into left field. The Seattle crowd applauded his accomplishment and the whole Angels team rushed the field to congratulate the hulking first basemen on his feat. With that hit, Pujols also joined a more exclusive club, the 3000 hit and 600 home run of which he is now the fourth member joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez. Congrats, Albert.
Mookie the Mighty: After taking some time off with hamstring tightness this week, Mookie Betts returned to action and made up for the time he missed. Betts hit solo shots in the 4th, 5thand 7thinnings to break Hall of Famer Ted Williams Red Sox record of 3 3 home run games. Ted Williams record had been intact for 61 years and Mookie Betts only needed 4 years to break the record. Betts also began the youngest player ever to have 4 3 home run games. He now leads the league with 11 home runs.
Ichiro to the Front: Seattle Mariners great Ichiro Suzuki will begin a transition from the playing field to the front office this year. He won’t play in the field as expected when he signed with the club over the offseason but he will not retire from playing. The former American League MVP and 10x all star will provide input on outfield play, base running and hitting as he mentors the younger players. IF this is truly the last time we’ve seen Ichiro on the field the Japanese great will have 4367 hits between the MLB and Nippon Professional League with 3089 coming in the MLB. Those hits are good for 22ndall time.
Worldly Affairs: Major League Baseball announced that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play a two game set at London’s Olympic Stadium in 2019. These games, which are set for June 29th and 30th, will be the first regular season games ever played in Europe. These games were announced following last weeks news that Major League Baseball will open the 2019 season with a 2 game set in the Tokyo Dome on March 20thand 21st. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will collide in these games and there is reason to believe that these will be Ichiro’s final games.
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