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One game ago, Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado helped his club claw back into a game they trailed 7-0 with a game-tying home run. On Monday night against the Athletics at Chase Field, he joined an elite MLB club.
Arenado ripped a line drive to left field off Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs and chugged into second base in the fifth inning. With the double, Arenado recorded his 2,000th major league base hit.
Diamondbacks' Nolan Arenado collects 2,000th hit
Arenado became the 297th player in major league history to reach that milestone threshold, spending the majority of his career with the Rockies and Cardinals.
He's also only the sixth active MLB player to do so. He joins Padres third baseman Manny Machado, Yankees and former D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman — elite company, without a doubt.
He's also the third Diamondbacks hitter to reach that marker while with Arizona, joining a pair of World Series-winning outfielders in Luis Gonzalez and Steve Finley.
Arenado, obviously, is known for his elite defensive work at third base. His 10 gold gloves, six platinum gloves and provides an exceptional third base presence could be enough to make him an all-time great as is. He hasn't lost those skills with age, either.
Arenado has posted +2 Defensive Runs Saved, +3 Fielding Run Value and +4 Outs Above Average for the Diamondbacks this season — perhaps not the elite level it once was, but the eye test still shows a brilliant defensive infielder.
Though the bat has not quite been as strong as it once was in the latter years of his career, he's been relatively productive at the plate for the Diamondbacks, who were not necessarily expecting a Silver Slugger-caliber season.
Monday's milestone double raised his full season slash to .245/.319/.425 and his OPS to .744, however; he's been a slightly above-average hitter this season after a brutally-slow start.
Arenado has 13 home runs and 18 doubles in his first season as a member of the D-backs, who acquired him away from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade this offseason. His contract, which is still the eight-year extension he signed with the Colorado Rockies, runs through 2027.
And so, he joins elite company with Arizona, and adds to his already-packed future Hall Of Fame resume. Though the Diamondbacks may be the final stop in his highly-decorated career, Arenado is a surefire future Cooperstown inhabitant.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi as Nolan Arenado Strengthens Hall Of Fame Case with Milestone Hit.
