3,000 hits isn’t synonymous with greatness

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the greatest players of all-time, never reached 3,000 hits

I know people are tripping over themselves in an effort to heap accolades on the New York Yankees Derek Jeter after his 3,000th hit. The worst part was the tendency for the media to constantly point out that he’s the only Yankee to ever attain 3,000 hits. Let me just point out one thing: 3,000 hits or not, Jeter isn’t in the same class as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle.

After Jeter’s accomplishment, I checked out the list of career hit leaders. Here’s a list of the 28 men who reached 3,000 hits:

1. Pete Rose 4256
2. Ty Cobb 4189
3. Hank Aaron 3771
4. Stan Musial 3630
5. Tris Speaker 3514
6. Cap Anson 3435
7. Honus Wagner 3420
8. Carl Yastrzemski 3419 » read more

Tim Pawlenty’s criticism misses the mark

Tim Pawlenty can wave good-bye to the Presidency if he loses Iowa, which he probably will.

Tim Pawlenty finally showed some signs of life, when he criticized Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s record as “non-existent.” It’s nice that he’s showing some signs of life, but I have a feeling that his criticism might not resonate with voters.

Think about this: Voters elected Barack Obama as President after only a few years in the U.S. Senate. Although, he was also a state senator (wow!). On the other end of the ideological spectrum, Sarah Palin has a massive number of supporters, even though she had less than two years experience as Governor of Alaska. Of course, in Palin’s defense, she was the mayor of Wasilla, which is a Metropolitan powerhouse.