LEADING OFF: Major League Baseball nears 20,000 players

A look at what’s happening around the majors Saturday:

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COUNT ’EM!

Major League Baseball is full of huge numbers — 4,256 hits by Pete Rose, 511 wins for Cy Young, 2,632 consecutive games played by Cal Ripken Jr.

Real soon, the sport will reach a big, round number: 20,000 total players.

There had been 19,989 players in MLB history going into the weekend, according to baseballreference.com, boosted by Seattle rookies Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert making their debuts Thursday night.

The list that began in 1871 ranges from A to Z.

First on the alphabetical chart is pitcher David Aardsma, who moved into the top spot ahead of Hank Aaron when he started out in 2004 for San Francisco. Aardsma’s last season was 2015 — that was the same year the player last on the list, pitcher Tony Zych, made his debut with the Mariners.

Of all the nearly 20,000 players so far to get into at least one game, 266 have reached the Hall of Fame. Walter Alston played two innings in his only game in 1936 for the Cardinals, striking out in his lone at-bat and making an error at first base — and later reached Cooperstown as the longtime manager of the Dodgers.

HEALTH STATUS

Now the New York Yankees are dealing with a couple of significant injuries, in addition to their coronavirus issues.

Center fielder Aaron Hicks had an MRI that revealed a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday the team will initially try to treat the injury with medicine, and if that goes well, Hicks could be available this weekend in Baltimore. But he could require surgery if the medicine is not effective.

“I think it could go either way,” Boone said.

New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton was scratched with left quad tightness less than an...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/LEADING-OFF-Yankees-dealing-with-Hicks-Stanton-16178699.php