Matt Holliday gets 2000th hit vs. Orioles (video)
After spending most of career in the National League, Matt Holliday got his 2,000th hit as a DH in an American League Park.
Outside of a 93-game stint with the Oakland Athletics at the start of the 2009 season after a trade the previous offseason, Matt Holliday has spent his entire career in the National League. So it’s not surprising 1,896 of his career hits have come with the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals.
Holliday signed with the New York Yankees during the offseason though, with the idea he would step into a role as a primary designated hitter. Through the first four games this season he has been productive in the new role, with a .308 batting average, one home run and four RBI. Two hits on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles put Holliday at 1,999 hits for his career, and obviously on the verge of a notable milestone.
In the top of the first inning on Saturday afternoon at Camden Yards, off Orioles’ starter Kevin Gausman, Holliday ended any possible drama surrounding when he would get his 2,000th hit.
Matt Holliday's 2,000th career MLB hit comes as a member of the @Yankees!#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/o23OudNUq2
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 8, 2017
Holliday is the 281st player in major league history to tally 2,000 career hits, and the seventh active player to reach that mark. The other six active players with at least 2,000 career hits are Ichiro Suzuki (3,030), Adrian Beltre (2,942), Albert Pujols (2,826), Carlos Beltran (2,622), Miguel Cabrera (2,519) and Robinson Cano (2,214). Good company, to say the least.
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Holliday added an infield single in the top of the ninth inning Saturday, before Orioles’ closer Zach Britton shut the door for his third save of the season, and he finished the game 2-for-5 with two strikeouts. Even with the Yankees’ loss, Holliday won’t face any stigma if being stuck on 2,000 hits.