White Sox's Elvis Andrus notches hits milestone to join exclusive group
On Wednesday, 15-year MLB veteran Elvis Andrus recorded career hit No. 2,000 and now finds himself part of an exclusive group.
According to James Fegan of The Athletic, Andrus is the fourth active player to reach the 2,000-hit mark, joining Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto and Nelson Cruz.
The 34-year-old infielder entered the 2023 campaign only three hits shy of the illustrious milestone. And, after registering base hits in each of the White Sox's first two games to start the season, Andrus seemed like he might get the milestone out of the way early. An 0-for-14 slump followed until Wednesday's matchup with the San Francisco Giants.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, facing Giants' starter Logan Webb, Andrus laced a 2-2 sinker to right field for a base hit, ending his pursuit for 2,000.
While it might have taken Andrus longer than he expected, he told reporters after the game that the achievement meant a lot to him and his family. His mother, Elvia, who will get the baseball he hit on Wednesday.
"She has the first one, 500, 1,000, 1,500, and now this one," Andrus said via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "She's the reason I'm here. She texts me already, 'You better give me the ball.' I sent her a picture and told her it's in the box and it will be here for you."
A Venezuelan native, Andrus signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2005 before being traded four seasons later to the Texas Rangers, where he would make his MLB debut and spend the first 12 seasons of his MLB career.
After two seasons with the Oakland A's, Andrus joined the White Sox ahead of the 2022 campaign. Last season, Andrus played in 43 games with Chicago, batting .271/.309/.464 with nine home runs and 28 RBI. Andrus subsequently signed a one-year, $3 million contract to return to the White Sox.
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