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MLB Milestone Tracker: First Half of Season Breakdown

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MLB Milestone Tracker

The MLB milestone tracker for the 2022 season is filled with unique achievements. Last year, Max Scherzer got 3,000 strikeouts, whereas Miguel Cabrera hit the 500th home run of his career. Baseball fans have a full season to see what milestones will be broken or achieved. There are always more career achievements to keep an eye on, and this year has been no exception. A lot has happened in the first half of the season, including two immaculate innings thrown in one game for the first time. Take a look at some milestones that have happened so far. 

MLB Milestone Tracker

Writers note: All milestones have been updated from July 17, 2022.

April

Alyssa Nakken

Alyssa Nakken made her mark in major league history. The 31-year-old got her chance to become the first female coach when Antoan Richardson was ejected from the game. She’s an assistant coach with the San Francisco Giants who knows baserunning and outfield defense. In 2020, she was hired as the team’s assistant, making her the first woman to work full-time in MLB. Nakken came onto the field just days after Rachel Balkovec became the first woman to manage a minor league game with an affiliate of an MLB team.

Seth Beer

Seth Beer gave fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks an Opening Day to remember. He became the first rookie in MLB history to hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day, April 7. In the game, Arizona was no-hit through six innings as they trailed 2-0 heading into the ninth. Reliever Robert Suarez walked the first two batters, hit a batter and was replaced by Craig Stammen. Beer turned the deficit into a 4-2 victory with just the swing of the bat.

Bud Black

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black won his 1,000th game on April 10. Black is the eighth active manager to reach the milestone, passing Charlie Manuel on baseball’s all-time win list. Black will pass Hall of Famers Red Schoendienst and Billy Southworth on the list. Since he joined the Rockies in 2017, he has led the team to consecutive playoff appearances. He improved to 392-409 with Colorado after going 649-713 with San Diego from 2007-2015.

Steven Kwan

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan put his name into the record books. He is the only player to reach base 15 times in the first four games of his career since 1901. Kwan became the sixth player since 1901 to have a five-hit game within his first three major league games.

Justin Verlander 

Justin Verlander returned to the mound following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Verlander pitched his 3,000th career inning in the seventh at the third start of the season. He’s the 138th pitcher, as only he and Zack Greinke are the only active players to pitch 3,000 innings.

Miguel Cabrera

It’s no surprise that Miguel Cabrera continues to add to his illustrious career. On April 23, Cabrera reached the 3,000-hit milestone and joined another exclusive club. The slugger hit his 600th career double, becoming the 18th player to do so. Altogether, he joins Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols as the only players with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles.

Clayton Kershaw 

Clayton Kershaw surpassed Don Sutton’s franchise record for strikeouts. In his career, Sutton racked 2,696 strikeouts during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Currently, Kershaw has 2,700. Stephen Strasburg is the only active pitcher who’s his team’s franchise strikeout leader. The 2019 World Series MVP has 1,718, more than anyone else who played for the Washington Nationals or Montreal Expos.

May

Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker is the 12th manager to reach 2,000 wins and the first Black manager to do so. The previous eleven other managers to get 2,000 victories are in Cooperstown, excluding Bruce Bochy, who isn’t eligible for induction until 2025. The Astros are Baker’s fifth team as this is this third season with Houston. He led the Astros to the ALCS during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the 2021 World Series. After all, Baker’s manager resume is worthy of the Hall of Fame despite still chasing after that World Series ring.

June

Madison Bumgarner

On June 22, Madison Bumgarner added another milestone to his resume. Bumgarner picked up his 2,000th career strikeout as he fanned Luke Voit of the San Diego Padres to get there. In 2009, Bumgarner’s first career strikeout came against San Diego’s Kevin Correia. Bumgarner’s 500th strikeout came on April 19, 2013, striking out yet another Padre, Yonder Alonso. During the 2016 season, Bumgarner set a season-high in strikeouts with 251. He’s the 87th player to reach 2,000 strikeouts.

Luis Garcia/Phil Maton

Starter Luis Garcia and reliever Phil Maton each threw an immaculate inning. Both pitchers threw nine pitches and three strikeouts as they became the eighth and ninth pitchers in Houston Astros history to throw immaculate innings. In brief, there are 105 immaculate innings in MLB history. 

Zack Greinke 

Coming off his first win of the season, Zack Greinke made his 500th career start on June 29. The veteran right-hander put up a solid six innings of work en route to the victory over the Texas Rangers. Out of his 500 career starts, he has a 62-71 record with the Kansas City Royals. In addition, Greinke became the 48th player to reach the mark. He now has 503 career starts to his name. 

Yadier Molina

Yadier Molina is having quite the final season of his iconic career. The St. Louis Cardinals catcher did what he’s been doing for almost 20-seasons, catching a foul popout for an out. However, on June 14, when Molina caught the pop off the bat of Ke’Bryan Hayes, he passed Iván Rodríguez for first all-time with his 14,865th putout as a catcher. Earlier this season, Molina and Adam Wainwright became the winningest starting battery in MLB history with 203 combined team wins.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees made history on June 29 against the Oakland Athletics. They set a new major league record for home runs in June with 58. Aaron Judge tied the record at 56 with his 29th home run. Judge’s home run tied New York with the 2016 Baltimore Orioles and the 2019 Atlanta Braves. Then, Giancarlo Stanton hit the record-setting 57th home run of the month for his 19th of the season. Finally, Anthony Rizzo sealed the record with 58 the following night against the Astros.

July 

Julio Rodríguez 

Julio Rodríguez has been one of the best rookies in the American League. In this case, he solidified that on July 4, when he did something no other player has done in the first 81 games of their career. As a result, Rodríguez became the first player since 1900 to hit 15-plus home runs and 20-plus stolen bases. Meanwhile, he will participate in the Home Run Derby as he is a heavy favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Main Image

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Players/managers Mentioned:

Max Scherzer, Seth Beer, Robert Suarez, Craig Stammen, Steven Kwan, Miguel Cabrera, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, Clayton Kershaw, Don Sutton, Stephen Strasburg, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Bud Black, Charlie Manuel, Red Schoendienst, Billy Southworth, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Madison Bumgarner, Julio Rodríguez, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Iván Rodríguez, Luis Garcia, Phil Maton

 

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