3K for DJ: Jeter becomes 20th player, first Yankee to reach 3,000-hit milestone

Jeter wasn't done after reaching the 3,000-hit plateau, singling in the winning run for his fifth hit of such a memorable day. (Photo: REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)

It was the perfect scene for New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who has been so close to the 3,000-hit threshold for so long. A month on the disabled list didn’t do him any good, forcing him to painstakingly wait. After his return, he got a hit here, a hit there, but still remained in the 2,000s. Now, the incredible accomplishment is finally in the rear-view mirror of such a deserving player.

On a beautiful day in New York, with a packed Yankees Stadium chanting his name, he lifted a deep drive into the left-field seats. He was cheered as he has been so often throughout his career, rounding the bases trying to process what he had just done. A home-run for his 3,000th hit, and a celebratory hug awaited him at home plate.

He would fittingly have three more hits on the afternoon, with the final coming in the eighth inning to drive in the go-ahead and eventually winning run to beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It was a relief,” he said in his postgame presser in regards to reaching and surpassing the milestone. “If I had written it [the script] and given it to someone, I wouldn’t have even bought it because it’s just one of those special days. I’ve been lying to you guys for a long time saying I wasn’t nervous and there’s no pressure. There’s a lot of pressure to do it here.”

Considering how much he produced the rest of the game he was clearly happy to have this weight off his shoulders. And he was also similarly content to get the historic ball back–the latest sign of accomplishment to put on his mantle. He talked to the recipient of the blast, 23-year-old Christian Lopez, after the game, and had a gem in the presser regarding his new friend–a lifelong Yankee fan who has of course followed him throughout his career.

“He got the ticket from his girlfriend,” Jeter said to a laughing group of journalists. “So he owes her quite a bit.”

“I was taking a picture, and next thing you know I look in the air,” Lopez said. “My dad dove and missed it, because he has awful hands. I saw it roll in front of me, so I jumped on it. It was just instinct. I thought ‘Wow! This is it! This is my chance!’”

Jeter, one of the classiest acts in the world of sports, made this fan’s day, just as he has made the past 16-plus seasons memorable for fans everywhere. He can be rooted against because he’s a Yankee, yet there is no disrespecting him. He has played the game with such grace, such professionalism, and so when the ball cleared the wall and his 3,000th hit was announced there was no reason to be anything else but happy for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

He has slumped the past few years as the sun begins the set on his career, but he may have many more hits left in him. Pete Rose’s record 4,256 hit mark is admittedly not in his sights, but he has many other past greats to pass before he is done, in front of such an adoring fan-base and for such a prestigious organization.

“It means a lot,” Jeter said of the feat. “It’s a number that has meant a lot in the history of the game, because not too many people have done it before. To be the only Yankee to do it … to be the only Yankee to do anything is pretty special.”