By Maureen Mullen
CSNNE.comFollow @maureenamullen
BOSTON -- Adrian Gonzalez needed just a triple to hit for the cycle Friday night.
Yeah, that ain't gonna happen, he joked at the time.
On Sunday afternoon against the Brewers at Fenway Park, Gonzalez hit his 1,000th career hit.
And sure enough, it was a triple.
Its definitely something that you dont think about when you come into the league, he said of the milestone hit. But its nice to get it and move on. I always said statistics arent something I focus on. Its nice to get there but its already behind us.
While Gonzalez was nonplussed by the milestone, manager Terry Francona was impressed.
Boston Red Sox
He's not going to stop at 1,000 hits, Francona said. Youll probably see 2,000 down the road a little bit. Hes a pretty good hitter.
Gonzalez, who will never be known for his speed, found the irony that the milestone came on a triple, into the triangle in center field.
I never drew that up, especially on something (the 1,000-hit plateau) you never even think you're going to get close to, he said. So, its nice to get and nice to put it behind and keep going and focus on some more."
His three triples this season (11 in his career) are just one behind team leader Carl Crawford.
I was telling speedster Jacoby Ellsbury, who has two, I got more triples than you do. Whats going on?Gonzalez said. He just said, Hey, you're faster than me.
When I hit it I was thinking double and once it got into that corner out there and I was pretty close to second base, I said if they throw me out from out there that means that Im really, really, really slow
Just as he was unimpressed by his milestone, Gonzalez is equally unfazed at the prospect of facing the Padres over the next three games. Gonzalez, a San Diego native, spent the past five seasons with the Padres, for whom he hit. 288, with 161 home runs, 501 RBI, slugging .514 with an on-base percentage of .374.
Another series, he said. I got a lot of friends on a lot of teams. So Im going to treat it just like another series. Im definitely going to hang out with the guys and talk to them. I mean, Ive been on the phone with them the whole season so its not like I havent talked to them. But once the game starts its just another series, another game.
Its just another series. I dont like to look into things like that.
Maureen Mullen is on Twitter at http:twitter.commaureenamullen