In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 hit club is the group of batters who h

ave collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was
the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit tot
al is unclear.[a] Two players Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner reached 3,000 hits during
the 1914 season. Ty Cobb became the club's fourth member in 1921 and became the
first player in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits in 1927, ultimately finishing hi
s career with more than 4,100.[6][b] Cobb, also MLB's all-time career batting av
erage leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985 when Pete Ros
e collected his 4,192nd hit.[10] Rose, the current record holder, finished his c
areer with 4,256 hits, an achievement that on its own would have qualified him f
or the Hall of Fame had Major League Baseball not banned him for life due to Ros
e's having gambled on games as a manager. Roberto Clemente's career ended with p
recisely 3,000 hits, reaching the mark in the last at bat of his career.[11][12]
[c] Derek Jeter is the most recent player to reach the milestone, achieving the
feat on July 9, 2011.[15]
In total, 28 players have reached the 3,000 hit mark in MLB history. Of these, 1
4 were right-handed batters, 12 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters, mea
ning they could bat from either side of the plate. Ten of these players have pla
yed for only one major league team. The Cleveland Indians are the only franchise
to see three players reach the milestone while on their roster: Lajoie (while t
he franchise was known as the "Naps"), Tris Speaker, and Eddie Murray. Four play
ers Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Murray, and Rafael Palmeiro are also members of the 500
home run club. At .367, Cobb holds the highest career batting average among clu
b members, while Cal Ripken, Jr. holds the lowest at .276. Jeter and Wade Boggs
are the only players to hit a home run for their 3,000th hit and Paul Molitor is
the only player to hit a triple for his 3,000th; all others hit a single or dou
ble. Craig Biggio was thrown out at second base attempting to stretch his 3,000t
h hit, a single, into a double.[16] Biggio and Jeter are the only players to joi
n the club in a game where they had five hits; Jeter reached base safely in all
of his at bats.[17]