Mauer becomes 3rd player to collect 2,000 hits with Twins

Joe Mauer roped a single through the middle of the infield that plated two runs for the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, and reached a significant milestone in the process. The 34-year-old joined Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett as the only players to collect 2,000 hits as a member of the Twins.

No. 2,000 was part of a two-hit night for the catcher-turned-first-baseman, who also recorded a one-run single earlier in the game. In total, Mauer was responsible for driving in three of Minnesota's four runs to that point.

"That was awesome. It really was," Mauer said, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "Leading up to it I didn’t think it was a big deal. But I got emotional. It was fun to see the fans, the boys at the top step and my family there, too."

Mauer now sits 85 hits behind Carew (2,085) and 304 away from Puckett (2,304). And when it comes to the franchise's overall hits list - which includes the pre-Twins era as the Washington Senators (1901-60) - he ranks seventh: