Robinson Canó makes Dominican history

With a ground rule double off San Diego’s Cal Quantrill in the first inning on Tuesday night, Mets second baseman Robinson Canó became the sixth Dominican-born player in major league history to reach 2,500 career regular season hits.

Canó, 36, played the first nine seasons of his career on the other side of town. In 1,374 games with the Yankees he produced 1,649 hits. After signing with the Mariners before the 2014 season Canó collected 821 hits in 704 games with Seattle. In his first season wearing the blue and orange of the Mets, Canó reached his 2,500th career hit in his 2,111th game.

Pittsburgh outfielder Melky Cabrera ranks second among active Dominican players with 1,889 hits.

Here are the six men born in the Dominican Republic to reach 2,500 hits.

1. Adrián Beltré – 3,166

Each time we put together a list of the all-time leaders from the Dominican Republic, Beltré is at/near the top. The recently retired third baseman still holds a 100-hit advantage on second on this list. He won more Gold Glove Awards (five) than the rest of this list combined; Pujols (two) and Canó (two) also won individual awards for their defensive skills. Beltré won two Platinum Glove Awards as well.

2. Albert Pujols – 3,066

“The Machine” is still chasing elusive career RBI number 2,000 and is the all-time leader in home runs, RBI, runs scored and doubles among players born in the Dominican Republic. When he reaches 2,000 we’ll talk more about his legendary career.

3. Vladimir Guerrero – 2,590

The fact that there is almost a 500-hit gap between Pujols and Guerrero, a Class of 2018 Hall of Fame inductee, show how special the careers of Pujols and Beltré have been. Guerrero finishes his career with 1,496 RBI as well.

4. Julio Franco – 2,586

Franco’s career path is amazing. He took his first cut in the majors in 1982 and his final appearance in the big leagues came with Atlanta in 2007. Over 23 seasons Franco wore the jerseys of eight different teams, appeared in three All-Star Games and won five Silver Slugger Awards.

5. Manny Ramírez – 2,574

Ramírez exploded onto the scene in Cleveland in 1993 and became one of the most feared righthanded batters of the 1990s and early 2000s. He was an All-Star in each season between 1998 and 2008, won nine Silver Slugger Awards and one American League batting crown. Of the six names on this list, four have both 2,500 hits and 500 career doubles: Pujols, Beltré, Canó and Ramírez.

6. Robinson Canó – 2,503

While last season’s PED suspension has left a cloud on his resume, Canó has put together a terrific career that includes eight All-Star Games, five Silver Slugger Awards, an All-Star Game MVP and a World Series ring. Canó has four more years left on his contract after the 2019 campaign, so becoming the third Dominican-born player to reach 3,000 hits is a possibility.

Featured Image: Mike Stobe / Getty Images Sport