Bo Bichette becomes fastest Blue Jays player to reach 500 career hits

Friday night in Toronto was a good one for the Blue Jays for a multitude of reasons. Not only did the Jays put an end to the Tampa Bay Rays 13-game winning streak to begin the season, but Bo Bichette set a team record in the process.

In the bottom of the second inning with two men on base, Bichette hit Drew Rasmussen's 96mph fastball down the right-field line and eventually out of play for a ground rule double.

The hit gave Bichette 500 for his career, making him the fastest in team history to accomplish the feat, 25 games quicker than the previous record holders Vernon Wells and Shannon Stewart who both achieved this feat in 432 games.

Bichette had himself a night on Friday going 5-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. His strong bat is what he's best known for, and it's been on full display to start the 2023 season. Bichette's impressive night brings his season slash line to an astounding .391/.418/.641. Obviously a small sample size for the Blue Jays' shortstop, with the team only 14 games into the season, and his production will likely ebb at least slightly, but impressive nonetheless.

Bichette was drafted by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft, 66th overall. He made his major league debut on July 29, 2019. He made an immediate impact in the big leagues, too, as he tied Ted Williams record for most consecutive games with an extra base hit as a rookie with nine.

Coming into the league with lots of hype surrounding you can cause players performance to suffer, but this hasn't been the case for Bichette since joining the Jays. Only 25 years-of-age and only in his 5th season in the majors, Bichette has been a career .300 hitter and seems to only be getting better.