By Andy Lans
Last Saturday, shortstop José Iglesias lived a special day in the best baseball circuit in the world. The Cuban reached 1,000 games in Major League Baseball in the 4-1 victory of the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Iglesias went down in posterity as the 22nd Cuban-born player to reach that milestone.
To do so, he needed 11 seasons in the Big Show. Of his games, he played 558 with the Detroit Tigers, 121 with the Boston Red Sox, 114 with the Los Angeles Angels, 146 with the Cincinnati Reds, 39 with the Baltimore Orioles and 22 (and counting) with the Rockies.
“Candelita” is the newest member of a select list of Cuban ballplayers with at least 1,000 games in the Big Show:
OVER 2,000 GAMES PLAYED:
1 Rafael Palmeiro 2,831 GP, 12,046 PA, 569 HR, 1,835 RBI, .288 AVG
2 Tony Perez 2,777 GP, 10,861 PA, 379 HR, 1,652 RBI, .279 AVG
3 Bert Campaneris 2,328 GP, 9,625 PA, 79 HR, 646 RBI, .259 AVG
4 Tony Taylor 2,195 GP, 8,501 PA, 75 HR, 598 RBI, .261 AVG
5 José Cardenal 2,017 GP, 7,698 PA, 138 HR, 775 RBI, .275 AVG
MÁS DE 1500 JUEGOS:
6 Orestes Miñoso 1,948 GP, 8,233 PA , 195 HR, 1,089 RBI, .299 AVG (Negro League Statistics Counted)
7 Leo Cárdenas 1,941 GP, 7,402 PA, 118 HR, 689 RBI, .257 AVG
8 José Canseco 1,887 GP, 8129 PA, 462 HR, 1,407 RBI, .266 AVG
9 Cookie Rojas 1,822 GP, 6,871 PA, 54 HR, 593 RBI, .263 AVG
10 Tony Oliva 1,676 GP, 6,880 PA, 220 HR, 947 RBI, .304 AVG
11 Tony Gonzalez 1,559 GP, 5,794 PA, 103 HR, 615 RBI, .286 AVG
OVER 1,000 GAMES:
12 Tito Fuentes 1,499 GP, 6,073 PA, 45 HR, 438 RBI, .268 AVG
13 Yunel Escobar 1,434 GP, 5,957 PA, 90 HR, 519 RBI, .282 AVG
14 Zoilo Versalles 1,400 GP, 5,579 PA, 95 HR, 471 RBI, .242 AVG
15 Alexei Ramírez 1,371 GP, 5,505 PA, 115 HR, 590 RBI, .270 AVG
16 Kendrys Morales 1,363 GP, 5,357 PA, 213 HR, 740 RBI, .265 AVG
17 Yuniesky Betancourt 1,156 GP, 4,278 PA, 80 HR, 457 RBI, .261 AVG
18 José Abreu 1,138 GP, 4,932 PA, 231 HR, 798 RBI, .289 AVG
19 Yonder Alonso 1,072 GP, 3,773 PA, 100 HR, 426 RBI, .259 AVG
20 Mike González 1,042 GP 3,155 PA 13 HR 263 RBI .253
21 Yasmani Grandal 1,041 GP, 3,953 PA, 173 HR, 511 RBI, .238 AVG
22 José Iglesias 1,000 GP, 3,658 PA, 44 HR, 327 RBI, .277 AVG
