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In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 hit club is the group of batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit total is unclear. Two players—Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner—reached 3,000 hits during the 1914 season. Ty Cobb became the club's fourth member in 1921 and became the first player in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits in 1927, ultimately finishing his career with more than 4,100. Cobb, also MLB's all-time career batting average leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985, when Pete Rose collected his 4,192nd hit. Rose, the current record holder, finished his career with 4,256 hits, an achievement that on its own would have qualified him for the Hall of Fame had Major League Baseball not banned him for life due to Rose's having gambled on games as a manager. Roberto Clemente's career ended with precisely 3,000 hits, reaching the mark in the last at bat of his career. Ichiro Suzuki is the most recent player to reach the milestone, achieving the feat on August 7, 2016.
In total, 30 players have reached the 3,000 hit mark in MLB history. Of these, 15 were right-handed batters, 13 were left-handed, and two were switch hitters, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Ten of these players have played for only one major league team. Five players—Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez—are also members of the 500 home run club. At .367, Cobb holds the highest career batting average among club members, while Cal Ripken Jr. holds the lowest at .276. Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Wade Boggs are the only players to hit a home run for their 3,000th hit and Paul Molitor and Suzuki are the only players to hit a triple for their 3,000th; all others hit a single or double. Craig Biggio was thrown out at second base attempting to stretch his 3,000th hit, a single, into a double. Biggio and Jeter are the only players to join the club in a game where they had five hits; Jeter reached base safely in all of his at bats.
Baseball writer Josh Pahigian wrote that membership in the club has been "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling." Reaching 3,000 hits is often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. All eligible club members, with the exception of Palmeiro, have been elected to the Hall, and since 1962 all club members who have been inducted were elected on the first ballot, except for Biggio. Rose is ineligible for the Hall of Fame because he was permanently banned from baseball in 1989. After four years on the ballot, Palmeiro failed to be named on 5% of ballots in 2014 and his name will be off the ballot for future elections. The only active player on this list is Suzuki. Adrián Beltré is currently only 58 hits away from 3,000.