Landmark · May 18, 2026
The Field Was the Relief
George Springer reached 1,500 career hits in May — a number built over 13 seasons and two teams by a player who found relief from a childhood stutter on the baseball field.
1,500 career hits · TOR
A Kid from New Britain
George Springer stuttered as a child. He was bullied for it. His sister ordered for him at restaurants, and he withdrew socially, finding relief mainly on the baseball field. He grew up in New Britain, Connecticut, born to athletes — his father George Jr. played in the 1976 Little League World Series and college football at UConn, his mother Laura was a competitive gymnast, and his sisters Nicole and Lena both played college softball.
He was 5-foot-2 and 100 pounds as a freshman playing varsity at New Britain High School. He transferred to Avon Old Farms, then starred at the University of Connecticut, where he was Big East Player of the Year and a First Team All-American. The Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 48th round in 2008; he didn't sign. The Astros took him 11th overall in 2011, and he debuted in Houston in April 2014.
Seven seasons with the Astros, six with the Blue Jays. Thirteen years, 1,539 games, 305 home runs, 833 RBI. On May 18 of this year, he collected his 1,500th career hit.
Glue
Jose Altuve called him the heart and soul of the team. A.J. Hinch described a glue guy whose energy connected everyone from stars to rookies. That presence took work to maintain. After a frustrating slump, Sports Illustrated reported, Springer snapped at his fiancée, then recommitted to enjoying the game and asked Carlos Beltrán to hold him accountable if he got down on himself.
He was the World Series MVP in 2017, the year Houston won it all. He has been an All-Star four times and won three Silver Slugger awards, the most recent in 2025. He was named Blue Jays MVP that same season. The stutter is still part of his life — he serves as a spokesman for the Stuttering Association for the Young, supporting Camp SAY and a scholarship fund for kids.
He is 36, a designated hitter for Toronto, with 1,560 career hits and 80 through 94 games this season.
Reporting: Sports Illustrated, MLB.com, SAY, Little League, University of Connecticut Athletics, Wikipedia. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.