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Juan Soto joins exclusive club after collecting 1,000th hit
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) hits a single for his 1000th career hit against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Juan Soto on Thursday collected his 1,000th career hit, and that put him in some very exclusive company.

Soto singled against Spencer Strider during the top of the first inning of his Atlanta Braves’ game against the New York Mets at Truist Park in Atlanta. The hit was Soto’s 1,000th, which is impressive considering he is only 26. But just what Soto has accomplished goes even further than that.

Mets blogger Mike Mayer pointed out that Soto now has 1,000 hits, 200 home runs and 700 walks — all before the age of 27. The only other players to have achieved those marks in MLB history were Mickey Mantle and Mel Ott.

Both Mantle and Ott are in the 500 home run club and Baseball Hall of Fame. Interestingly, though both achieved 1,000 hits prior to 27, neither Mantle nor Ott became part of the 3,000-hit club. Ott finished with 2,876, while Mantle finished with 2,415. Both players walked over 1,700 times during their career.

If the $765M contract Soto signed with the Mets didn’t already tell you that Soto was on a Hall of Fame track, this statistic should.

Though the exclusive club is very cool, it probably doesn’t make Mets fans feel any better. Soto has not gotten off to a great start to his first season with the Mets. He entered play on Thursday batting .248 with an .849 OPS.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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