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05/12/2005 Archived Entry: "Milestones update: 5.12.05"
Milestones update: 5.12.05
By Michael Toeset
On April 27, Jose Mesa became the 19th pitcher to record 300 career saves. Mesa has been a scary reliever in his time; and no one knew whom he would be scaring on any particular day - his manager or the opposing team. But Mesa has been fairly consistant, with his best season saves totals being 46, 45, 43 and 42.
On May 2, Craig Biggio stole his 400th base. In the heart of his career, Biggio was one of the game's best leadoff batters, both in terms of getting on base and in base-stealing ability. He never put up Rickey Henderson-type numbers, but his best steal seasons are somewhat impressive: 50, 47, 39 and 38.
Johnny Damon and Reggie Sanders both hit their 300th double on May 3. Surprisingly, Sanders has put up numbers comparable if not better than Damon over the years. To compare the numbers as of May 12:
Damon: 302 doubles, 5694 at-bats, .433 slg., .289 avg, .353 obp, 121 HR, 267 SB.
Sanders: 301 doubles, 5642 at-bats, .490 slg., .267 avg, .344 obp, 280 HR, 285 SB.
Ask any manager who'd they'd rather field this season, and the answer would be Damon. But Sanders has been underrated ever since he couldn't become the next Eric Davis in Cincinnati.
While we're talking about Sanders, on May 3, he also collected his 1,500th hit.
On May 6, Mike Cameron collected his 1,000th hit. He would've reached this milestone much earlier this season if not for injuries. But he's back, and so far playing spectacularly. Like Sanders, Cameron also has been somewhat underrated. But then again, if you look at his career batting average - .249 - he's no Carlos Beltran. He does have 163 homers and 217 steals for his career, however.
Miguel Tejada hit his 200th home run on May 9. Tejada has been an awesome offensive shortstop over the years, and he's still in his prime. His best home years: 34, 34, 31 and 30.
Just about every week Roger Clemens hits a new milestone. On May 9, he won his 330th game, boosting him past Steve Carlton to No. 9 on the all-time list. Next up is Tim Keefe with 342.
Livan Hernandez won his 100th game on May 9. Hernandez has never had a season like Clemens, but he has put up impressive win totals in his career, the best being 17, 15 and 13.
Bret Boone drove in his 1000th run on May 10. The late-blossoming Boone had three consecutive triple-digit RBI years, the best being during his amazing 2001 campaign. That year he hit .331 and drove in 141 runs.
