Angels' Raul Ibanez Records Career Hit No. 2,000 on Game-Tying Home Run

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Raul Ibanez hit a game-tying three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday against the New York Mets to collect the 2,000th hit of his career, per the Associated Press.

After third baseman David Freese singled and shortstop Erick Aybar walked, Ibanez drove a 1-0 pitch from Mets closer Jose Valverde into the right-field seats to tie the game at six. The game went into extra innings, with the Mets eventually winning 7-6 on an Anthony Recker solo home run in the top of the 13th inning.

Ibanez is one of 276 players (16 active) in Major League Baseball's 2,000-hit club, a group that includes Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who reached the milestone back on April 4 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The home run was the 302nd of Ibanez's 19-year career, moving him one ahead of Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby for 135th all-time.

Ibanez has been somewhat of a late bloomer, hitting a career-high 33 home runs at the age of 34 in 2006 for the Seattle Mariners, only to set a new career-high three years later with 34 home runs while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies. He has hit at least 15 home runs in 12 consecutive seasons, including eight seasons with at least 20.

Ibanez also has a bit of a journeyman quality to his career, as he's played for the  Mariners three different times, and also enjoyed stints with the Kansas City Royals, Phillies, New York Yankees and Angels.

Through 2,080 career games, Ibanez now has exactly 2,000 hits, 302 home runs, 1,191 RBI and 1,036 runs scored.