10 statistical milestones to watch for during 2021 MLB season

Miguel Cabrera: 3,000 hits and 500 home runs

There may be a few different curtain calls, like the one above, for Miggy this year — and, though they chairs won't be completely filled, expect some fans in the background of that picture.

The future first-ballot Hall of Famer is currently 134 hits and 13 home runs shy of breaking the 3,000-hit and 500-home run planes, both of which have a certain mythical quality to them. It might not be as easy as it appears — in 2019, Cabrera played in 136 games, tallying 139 hits and 12 home runs — but you can expect him to get really close.

He's also 100 RBI and 103 total bases away from reaching the all-time top 20 in those categories, with the latter club far more achievable than the former.

Joey Votto: 2,000 hits

The 15-year-veteran shouldn't have too much trouble getting here, as he needs just 92 base knocks to reach that barrier and has recorded well over 100 in every full season he's played.

There are only four players since 1900 to collect 2,000 hits or more in a Reds uniform — Pete Rose, Barry Larkin, Dave Concepcion and Johnny Bench — and Votto becoming the fifth would be an appropriate nod to the greatness of his career. His Hall of Fame case will be an interesting one to observe, but I think he should get in.

One reason why? His ridiculous .419 career on-base percentage, a top-20 figure of all time that puts him in the same company as Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas and a whole lot of guys from a completely different era — think Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe, and the Babe.

Albert Pujols: Climbing the hits, runs and total bases leaderboards

There isn't much room for growth on the HR and RBI leaderboards for Pujols, who will need a significant amount of each if he wants to move up a spot. But he can definitely move up more offensive leaderboards, further cementing his case as one of the greatest offensive players that game has (and will) ever seen.

With 3,236 hits, he ranks 15th all-time, but can move past Nap LaJoie, Eddie Murray and Willie Mays so long as he records 50 hits this season. The top ten is in reach, as well, though asking the 41-year-old Pujols to record 83 hits and surpass Paul Molitor might be a bit of a reach — we'll just have to see how the season plays out.

Pujols is No. 16 on the career runs list, and he'll have a good chance at finishing the season in the top 12, surpassing No. 12 Lou Gehrig if he can cross the plate 46 times. As far as total bases go, he has a solid chance at becoming just the fourth player in MLB history to record 6,000, which would also mean he passes Barry Bonds for fourth all-time. Pujols has 5,923, while Bonds has 5,976.

Pete Alonso: Fastest to reach 100 home runs

Ryan Howard belted his 100th home run in just his 325th career game, while Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge ranking second and third on the list by doing so in 355 and 371 games, respectively.

But when you hit a league-leading 53 home runs in your true rookie season, and follow it up with a similar pace in a 60-game season, there's a real shot you can rearrange that list once again. Alonso has clobbered 69 home runs in 218 career games. If I'm doing my math correctly — which I am — that means he's on pace to reach dinger No. 100 in game 315.94. So we'll round up and say that Alonso could be the new record-holder for this slugging feat in career game 316, which would fall somewhere in July/August barring any schedule setbacks.

Ronald Acuna: 5th member of 40-40 club

Stolen bases don't occur with anywhere near the same frequency that they used to, but that doesn't deter Acuna from flashing his devastating speed on the base paths. He led the league with 37 steals in 2019, the same season he hit 41 home runs, and came oh-so close to joining the 40-40 club. It's an interesting group — Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco — and one that could use another clean ballplayer alongside Soriano to purify it a little bit.

Nelson Cruz: Climbing the HR list and joining exclusive club

From his debut at 24 to his age-31 season, Nelson Cruz recorded 130 career home runs. 130 career home runs over eight seasons... nothing to write home about.

Over the next eight, including the 60-game 2020 season, Cruz hit 287 home runs. His 162-game average over that span is 45 home runs. He's now 40 years old — soon to be 41 — but he's shown no signs of slowing down. And because of that, we expect him to move up the career HR list a good amount in 2021. With 417 home runs, he sits at No. 53, but he can foreseeably move into the top 40 by hitting 33 bombs this year to record his 450th blast.

If he hits 40 home runs this year, he'll have officially slugged 300 HR past the age of 33, which has only been done by two other players in league history — Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron (via Stathead). Now that's some exclusive company.

Max Scherzer: 3,000 strikeouts

Should Scherzer pitch in Scherzer-esque fashion, his 3,000th strikeout is well within reach. He needs a pretty good amount — with 2,784, he's 216 away — but he's recorded more than that figure in every full season dating back to 2012.

Reaching 3,000 would push him up to No. 18 on the all-time list, and if he can replicate his insane 2019 season in which he recorded 300 Ks, he can tie John Smoltz at No. 17.

Jon Lester: 200 wins, 2,500 strikeouts

If Lester can reach these two milestones this year, in his debut campaign with the Nationals, he should be able to punch his eventual ticket to the Hall of Fame. It may not come right away, but it puts him in a group of 32 pitchers of which 22 are Hall of Famers, and the other 10 are either eventual Hall of Famers, borderline candidates, or Roger Clemens/Curt Schilling.

What will he need to do to get there? Not that much. He's at 193 wins and 2,397 strikeouts. If he hasn't achieved at least one of these feats by the time the summer is over, it'll come as a pretty big surprise.

Clayton Kershaw: .700 career W-L %

You've probably heard of Al Spalding, if only because he's the namesake of the sporting goods company. You may not know about Spud Chandler, who played for the Yankees in the late '30s and '40s.

But these are the only two pitchers in MLB history (min. 1000 inning pitched) that sit above Kershaw on the Win-Loss % list. Kershaw, at .6972, has had an insanely successful regular season track record. With how good the Dodgers are set to be this season, he could even build upon that number, and all it takes is a boost of three measly percentage points to push him above that .700 boundary.

Don't ask me to do the math to find out what that would actually require. And don't expect that number to hold if he does get above .700 — it could easily oscillate over and under the line. But if he ends the season with that mark, that's something to truly marvel at, even if wins/losses have become disproven as important and evaluative pitching stats.

Tony La Russa: Climbing managerial wins leaderboard

White Sox fans better hope that Tony La Russa moves up the all-time wins leaderboard. There isn't much room for growth — the only names above him are Connie Mack and John McGraw — but with 2,728 wins to his name, La Russa is just 35 wins away from tying McGraw in second place and 36 wins away from taking sole possession.

Let's also take a moment to look at just how much higher Connie Mack is from everyone else. Sure, La Russa will pass McGraw. Then, he'd only need, oh, 900 or so wins to then catch Mack at the top of the board. I guess that's what happens when you manage for 53 years and take your fair share of losses as well — Mack's got a whopping 3,948 of those.