quentinJeter Gets 3,000
July 9th 2011 22:42
Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees became the 28th member to get 3,000 hits. He did against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 5-4 victory. He finished the day, going 5-5 with the game-winning single in the eighth inning. In a 3-2 third inning curve ball off David Price, the Rays starter, Jeter hit his 3,000th , which happens to be a home run. The ball was recovered by a fan named Christian Lopez, who returned the ball back to the Yankees. In the fifth inning, Jeter hit a double which passed Roberto Clemente for 27th of all-time. Derek Jeter, who is 37 years old and 13 days, became the fourth youngest player to reach the 3,000 mark. Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, and Robin Yount were the youngest to that feat. The last player to reach 3,000 hits was Biggio in June 2007. He accumulated all of hits with the Houston Astros. Jeter is the 14th player with 3,000 hits for one team. The Former Yankee, Wade Boggs, is the only other player to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit. He did it while playing for the Rays in 1999. Boggs said of Jeter's feat, “Reaching the 3,000 hit mark is another piece of the legacy that Derek has created. It won't be too long now before we are on the verandah in Cooperstown at the Otesaga Hotel celebrating his induction to the Hall of Fame.”
In the third inning, after Jeter made contact with the 78 mph curve ball, Price fell on one knee, knowing he might have given up number 3,000. Once Jeter reached home plate after his 3,000 hits, his teammates poured out of the dugout and the right field bullpen. They circled him until the crowd broke through a little and he got a hug from Alex Rodriguez. Jeter's father, Charles, said, “It was tremendous. I can't describe how I was feeling. We need a victory, first of all... Very emotional for me, very happy for him. Jeter is the first to reach 3,000 hits in the uniform of a New York team. Four of the other 27 players to reach 3,000 hits wore a Yankees uniform at some point in their careers: Boggs, Ricky Henderson, Dave Winfield, and Paul Waner. Waner is only one to wear it after he got to 3,000.
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