White Sox' Elvis Andrus joins 2,000 hit club, 289th all-time
Elvis Andrus joins 2,000 hit club, 289th all-time originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
White Sox second baseman Elvis Andrus joined the 2,000-hit club on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. He reacted jubilantly, as he stood on first base with his hands raised in the air and a smile on his face. He singled into center field and recorded and RBI with an Oscar Colas run.
Andrus, 34, is going into his 15th major league season. He is the 289th baseball player in history to reach 2,000 career hits, according to MLB.com. He is the fourth active player in the 2,000-hit club, alongside Miguel Cabrera (3,089), Joey Votto (2,168) and Nelson Cruz (2,018).
"It's a great achievement, man," Andrus said after the game. "It's a lot of hits. It's a lot of memories. Every hit means a lot from the first one to today. It means a lot for my family and the people who helped me through my career."
Andrus is going into his second season with the White Sox. He joined the club in the middle of last season to help cover the shortstop position when Tim Anderson went down in August with a left finger injury that cost him the rest of his season.
The White Sox signed Andrus back on a one-year $3 million deal before the start of this season. Andrus flipped to second base this season, now that Anderson is back with the team.
Ahead of reaching 2,000, Andrus said "it was tough" not to think about the mark while sitting at 1,999 hits. The hit was his second of the season.
"It's always tough. It's very tough when you're right there and you're about to accomplish a milestone," Andrus said. "I'm not gonna lie, I wanted to get this hit in Houston while my family was there. Just the way it goes."
Andrus said he plans to give the ball to his mom. He said she has all the milestone balls, so this one will add to the collection. After the game, she had already texted Andrus about giving her the ball.
"That's a heckuva feat," Grifol said after the agme. "You gotta play a lot of baseball in the big leagues and you gotta be really damn good to accomplish 2,000 hits."
