Mr. 3000 (Almost)
by Vance Garnett, Co-owner with William Kennick of Washingtonsenators.com
Mr.3000, the movie released in October 2004 stars Bernie Mac as a major league ballplayer who retires only to discover that he is three hits shy of membership in the 3000 hit club. He then tried to get himself back in shape and return to bang out the needed three hits.
Although the film is a fictional comedy, something similar happened to Washington outfielder Sam Rice (1915-1933).
Rice holds the dubious distinction of being the player with the most hits who is NOT in the 3000 club.
After his retirement it was learned that his total hits in the major leagues was 2987, just 13 short of the magic number. Washington ballclub owner, Clark Griffith invited Rice to return and play with the Senators 'till he racked up 13 more hits.
Rice thanked Griffith for the kind invitation, but he, didn't feel like going through the rigors of getting back into shape; and besides, by then Sam Rice was a successful chicken farmer in suburban Maryland.
And one more thing, he did not feel that he had anything to prove. His record spoke for itself:
200 or more hits in each of six seasons.
Lifetime batting average of .322
American league record with 182 singles in 1925
Led A.L .in hits with 216 in 1924 and 1926
Led A.L. in putouts for outfielders with 454 in 1920 and 385 in 1922
Led American League with 63 stolen bases in 1920
Batted .349 at age 40
Oh, yes, and collected a total of 2987 hits.
copyyright Vance Garnett, 2004