Phillies Odubel Herrera approaching historic milestones

Big numbers are coming for the Phillies flamboyant center fielder

For every 10 fantastic things Odubel Herrera does on the field for the Phillies, he makes one boneheaded decision, be it not sliding, diving, or getting into an unnecessary rundown. The basic mistakes need to be addressed and fixed, no doubt, but the positives in Herrera’s game must be appreciated.

Entering the season we noted that Herrera is on pace to be one of the fastest players in franchise history to have 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases, and 500 hits. It’s a feat few players in franchise history have reached in so little time, and Herrera continues to inch closer at a rapid rate.

As noted on MLB.com’s Milestone Tracker, Herrera is two doubles away from 100, 16 hits away from 500, and 39 away from his 500th game. At 26-years-old he’ll have as many or more hits than games played. Mike Schmidt had his 500th hit in 482 games, and Herrera is on pace to match that mark with only 461 games played.

Herrera is on track to be the third-fastest player in franchise history to reach the 50/50/500 mark behind Bobby Abreu and Juan Samuel. El Torito’s numbers aren’t identical to Abreu’s in the late 90’s, but they’re better than any young outfielder in recent franchise history.

Let me say that again for those in the back. Odubel Herrera’s offensive numbers are just as good as any young outfielder in franchise history.

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Granted, the numb-minded mistakes must be addressed by manager Gabe Kapler and Herrera, but there’s not reason Herrera can’t be one of the starting nine in Game One in a future World Series.