BOSTON — If Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski had stuck to his many vows to leave baseball over the years he wouldn’t have made it to 2,000 hits.
At Pierzynski’s position, sticking around for 19 years is an accomplishment in itself. That’s why Pierzynski said he never put much thought into reaching 2,000 hits.
“You never think you are going to play that long,” Pierzynski said. “If you ask people that know me, I’ve been saying I was going to retire for five years now. For some reason, you keep coming back. It’s a lot of hits and a lot of games and lot of ups and downs, good and bad times. At the end of the day, it’s a cool accomplishment and something to be proud of.”
Pierzynski reached the milestone when he singled in the second inning Wednesday against Red Sox right-hander Justin Wright. He’s the 10th player who played primarily catcher to collect at least 2,000 career hits.
The other catchers on the list are Ivan Rodriguez (2,844), Ted Simmons (2,472), Carlton Fisk (2,356), Joe Torre (2,342), Jason Kendall (2,195), Yogi Berra (2,150), Mike Piazza (2,127), Gary Carter (2,092) and Johnny Bench (2,048 hits).
“As a catcher, you look at that list and there are some of the all-time greats,” Pierzynski said. “To be associated with them is pretty special.”
Pierzynski was stuck on 1,999 hits for three games in Atlanta as he went 0-for-9. He said he hoped to reach 2,000 hits at home in front of his family but said he’s glad he did it because he was tired of getting so many calls and messages about it.
“It’s over and now I can try to get more hits and get more wins,” Pierzynski said.
