Record year? 10 milestones within reach in ’17

The calendar has flipped to 2017, and New Year’s resolutions aren’t the only thing to look forward to.

We saw Ichiro Suzuki’s entry into the 3,000-hit club and Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira each breaking into the 400-homer club in 2016. More history is on tap this year, giving fans plenty of reasons to start counting with each hit, homer, strikeout, save, etc.

Here are 10 milestones to keep an eye on in the coming season:

Batting milestones

• Perhaps the most anticipated pursuit of 2017 is Adrian Beltre’s quest to become the 31st member of the 3,000-hit club. Beltre needs only 58 more hits to join Wade Boggs and George Brett as the only Club 3,000 members who played more than half their games at third base.

The great Albert Pujols is also within range, needing another 175 base knocks to join potentially Beltre and the other 30 legends. Pujols hasn’t collected at least 175 hits in a season since 2010 — his second-to-last year with the Cardinals — though he did tally 172 just three seasons ago for the Angels.

• Beltre is also close to a couple of smaller milestones that would help him become truly elite. With just nine more doubles and five more home runs — in addition to those 58 hits — Beltre would join Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Carl Yastrzemski as the only players in history with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles and 450 homers.

• Pujols is only nine homers shy of 600 in his career — a total only equaled by Barry Bonds, Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome and Sammy Sosa. Pujols’ career .309 average (if he can maintain it by the time he hits No. 600) would rank second to Ruth in that group, and his .573 …

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