Kendrick happy to reach 1,000 hits with Angels

ARLINGTON -- Howie Kendrick got his 1,000th career hit on Tuesday night, and he'll have an opportunity to add to that in an Angels uniform.

The homegrown second baseman was linked to several teams leading up to Wednesday's 1 p.m. PT non-waiver Trade Deadline, with the Angels' front office hoping to use him in an effort to acquire cost-controlled starting pitching.

But when the Deadline came and went, the Angels didn't have a deal in place and Kendrick had stayed put.

His eighth-inning two-run single, which made him the ninth player in franchise history to reach the 1,000-hit milestone, won't be his last.

"I love it here, man," Kendrick said. "I'd be the last guy to tell you I was looking forward to getting traded. This is where I grew up at and it's always going to be a special place for me. I've enjoyed my time here and I love being here. It's been a great organization to me. If I would've gotten traded, I know it's for a reason. At the same time, I'm happy to still be here, too, because a lot of the guys here are great players and they're a lot of my friends, too."

Kendrick, who entered Wednesday with a .301/.344/.446 slash line, reached 1,000 hits in his 904th game, making him the fifth-fastest in Angels history to reach the milestone -- behind only Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero.

When he reached first base, he hollered at hitting coach Jim Eppard to make sure he saved the baseball. Soon, it'll go in the game room of his house in Phoenix, which is filled with autographed jerseys and other personal milestones.

"Man I'm so happy to be able to reach that milestone in this uniform, because I've been here," Kendrick said. "I came up through the organization that drafted me, and to be able to get 1,000 hits here and be here for the time I have been, that's special."