Albert Pujols should join MLB's 3,000-hit club this week -- and we may not see a hitting machine like him ever again

We've all known Albert Pujols to be a big deal on baseball cards for most of this century and that his 2001 Bowman Chrome rookie autograph is an iconic card that can only be owned by some.

But now that he's on the cusp of joining the 3,000-Hit Club -- he's just four hits away -- we get another moment to examine his place in MLB history.

While that club is exclusive, he's among an even more elite group once that happens -- and it's a club so elite we may never see it again.

Filter the members of Club 3K with their home run totals and you'll see just how rare Pujols is. He'll be just the fourth player to get to 3,000 hits while also hitting 600 home runs.

Here's the rundown ...

-- Hank Aaron 755 home runs, 3,771 hits
-- Alex Rodriguez 696 home runs, 3,115 hits
-- Willie Mays 660 home runs, 3,283 hits
-- Albert Pujols 619 home runs, 2,996 hits

That's it. Reaching 3,000 hits is something that the other members of the 600-HR club never did. Here's their rundown ... Barry Bonds (762, 2,935), Babe Ruth (714, 2,873), Ken Griffey Jr. (630, 2,781), Jim Thome (612, 2,328) and Sammy Sosa (609, 2,408) all came up short. It's also something we may not see for a long time, too, as the career leader in home runs right now is 35-year-old Miguel Cabrera with just 465 homers and after that 39-year-old Adrian Beltre with 463. Getting to 500 home runs isn't likely for either of them, though Beltre got to 3,000 hits last year.

The only possible hope for 600 home runs with a meaty place on the active career list right now? It's 28-year-old Giancarlo Stanton who has 272 in nine seasons. Meanwhile the only other 20-somethings with more than 150 homers include 26-year-old Mike Trout, who has 211 in eight seasons, 28-year-old Freddie Freeman (170 in nine seasons), 28-year old Anthony Rizzo (167 in eight seasons), 25-year-old Bryce Harper (158 in seven seasons) and 27-year-old Nolan Arenado (152 in six seasons). Coming close to that cut-off is 25-year-old Manny Machado (147 in seven seasons), meanwhile only six other 20-somehtings have at least 100 homers right now.

Plug Stanton's stats into this projection machine and he's not likely making it (less than 50 percent chance) to get to 600 homers. Joining Club 3K? It's not happening at all. Do any of the others have a shot? How about 3,000 hits atop that?

Simply put, 3,000 hits and 600 home runs may not ever happen again -- not Stanton, not Trout, not Harper -- and that should show you how special this week's moment should be.

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