Altuve was the perfect type of player to hit 3000, that he's not going to get there shows just how unlikely it will be to see many guys do it in the future.
One kind of odd development has been the signing of guys to long super deals when they are like 23 or 24 years old. Someone like Witt should be someone with a good chance, but if he's still not good when his deal ends after his age 37 season, there is no guarantee he finds a place to get the final 300-400 hits he'd need. (Of course Witt probably opts out of his deal making this irrelevant for him specifically but hopefully the point is clear)
Maybe Julio Rodriguez is a better example, his deal ends after his age 33 season. Very unlikely he gets a super deal at that age so his longevity past that is entirely tied to his production late into his 30s.
This is way different than Juan Soto who is signed through his age 40 season because he didn't sign his mega deal until after hitting free agency. This basically guarantees Soto a chance to get to 3000 because he's going to still be rostered and getting ABs because of his contract.
Perhaps nothing, but maybe the new trend of early extensions ends up having an unintended side effect by impacting career longevity for aging stars.
One kind of odd development has been the signing of guys to long super deals when they are like 23 or 24 years old. Someone like Witt should be someone with a good chance, but if he's still not good when his deal ends after his age 37 season, there is no guarantee he finds a place to get the final 300-400 hits he'd need. (Of course Witt probably opts out of his deal making this irrelevant for him specifically but hopefully the point is clear)
Maybe Julio Rodriguez is a better example, his deal ends after his age 33 season. Very unlikely he gets a super deal at that age so his longevity past that is entirely tied to his production late into his 30s.
This is way different than Juan Soto who is signed through his age 40 season because he didn't sign his mega deal until after hitting free agency. This basically guarantees Soto a chance to get to 3000 because he's going to still be rostered and getting ABs because of his contract.
Perhaps nothing, but maybe the new trend of early extensions ends up having an unintended side effect by impacting career longevity for aging stars.
