Curtis Granderson Is About To Join An Exclusive Club

Photo by Paul J. Bereswill

I am on board with Curtis Granderson becoming an outfielder for the Mets over the next four seasons.  But not everyone is.  So I decided to generate a chart that lists all the players in baseball history who have produced 200 doubles, 200 homers, 80 triples and 100 stolen bases in their respective careers.

For the record, Curtis Granderson's first double for the Mets will be the 200th in his career.  When he gets it, he will join this group of players in the 200 double, 200 homer, 80 triple, 100 steal club.  See if you recognize any of the names listed below.

Rk	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Hank Aaron	3298	12364	2175	3771	624	98	755	2297	239	.305	.374	.555	.929
2	Willie Mays	2992	10881	2060	3283	523	140	660	1903	336	.302	.384	.557	.942
3	Dave Winfield	2973	11003	1669	3110	540	88	465	1833	223	.283	.353	.475	.827
4	Robin Yount	2856	11008	1632	3142	583	126	251	1406	271	.285	.342	.430	.772
5	George Brett	2707	10349	1583	3154	665	137	317	1596	201	.305	.369	.487	.857
6	Paul Molitor	2683	10835	1782	3319	605	114	234	1307	504	.306	.369	.448	.817
7	Joe Morgan	2649	9277	1650	2517	449	96	268	1133	689	.271	.392	.427	.819
8	Andre Dawson	2627	9927	1373	2774	503	98	438	1591	314	.279	.323	.482	.806
9	Steve Finley	2583	9397	1443	2548	449	124	304	1167	320	.271	.332	.442	.775
10	Johnny Damon	2490	9736	1668	2769	522	109	235	1139	408	.284	.352	.433	.785
11	Vada Pinson	2470	9644	1365	2757	485	127	256	1169	305	.286	.327	.442	.769
12	Babe Ruth	2457	8297	2156	2842	495	135	710	2193	123	.343	.475	.691	1.167
13	Roberto Alomar	2379	9073	1508	2724	504	80	210	1134	474	.300	.371	.443	.814
14	Goose Goslin	2287	8658	1482	2735	500	173	248	1619	175	.316	.387	.500	.887
15	Rogers Hornsby	2241	8115	1574	2916	539	169	301	1460	135	.359	.435	.579	1.014
16	Lou Gehrig	2164	8000	1888	2721	534	163	493	1997	102	.340	.448	.633	1.080
17	Curtis Granderson	1187	4438	780	1157	199	80	217	606	122	.261	.340	.488	.828

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/7/2013.

Thirteen of the players listed above are in the Hall of Fame.  Three others (Steve Finley, Johnny Damon, Vada Pinson) had outstanding careers that warranted Hall of Fame consideration.  The 17th member of that group - once he legs out his first two-bagger for the Mets - is Curtis Granderson.  And if he gets that double before his 13th game with the team, he will have joined that exclusive club before playing in his 1,200th career game.  Everyone else on the list played in at least 2,164 games.

Granderson already has as many triples and just seven fewer homers than Roberto Alomar, who is one of the players on the list.  Another player on the list (Lou Gehrig) had 20 fewer stolen bases than Granderson already has.  In addition, Granderson's on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (.340/.488/.828) are all higher than the numbers put up by Hall of Famer Andre Dawson (.323/.482/.806). And his .488 slugging percentage is higher than ten of the 16 other players on the list.

Many home run hitters can produce doubles.  But they don't usually don't have the speed to leg out triples or steal bases.  Similarly, great triples hitters who also steal bases aren't usually among the league's best power hitters.  That's why only 16 players have ever produced 200 doubles, 200 homers, 80 triples and 100 stolen bases in their careers.  That's also why all but three of those players have their plaques hanging in Cooperstown.

Curtis Granderson is about to become the 17th player to reach those career marks.  And now he has four years to add to those numbers as a member of the New York Mets.  Get used to it, Mets fans.  Come March 31st, you'll be cheering for a very special player.