Some players shrink under the pressure of a milestone, going on long hittless droughts before they finally get that magic hit. Whether it be 3,000 hits, 400 or 500 homeruns. Consistently we see players choke up on the bat as they approach that milestone.Not Derek Jeter.
Not the man who made pressure situations look routine through the course of a 16 year major league career, that includes five World Series rings and a World Series MVP in 2000.
After singling in the first inning to capture 2,999, Jeter didn't let the sell out crowd at Yankee Stadium wait too long for that magic 3,000th hit.
With the Rays leading 1-0 in the third inning, Jeter cracked a no doubt-about-it homerun into the the left field bleachers to tie the game and capture his 3,000th hit.
Three men battled for the ball, and at this point it is unknown who has the ball, and whether or not Yankee Stadium security found that person to retrieve the ball for Jeter.
After crossing home plate, Jeter was mobbed by his Yankee teammates, then gave two curtain calls to the crowd after the blast. WATCH HERE!
In a way, the homer was the only way Jeter could get that hit. He has made a career for the dramatic, and for a guy who is not a power hitter, seems to always get the big hit for homeruns when it matters the most.
Jeter joins a select group of players that includes, Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Cal Ripken Jr., Rickey Henderson, Hank Aaron, Stan "The Man" Musial, and Roberto Clemente of players who have hit this incredible milestone.
In fact Jeter is the first player in a Yankee uniform to accomplish the feat. Even though Wade Boggs, and Henderson both played for the Yankees, neither got the mark in Yankee uniforms. Bogss got 3,000 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Henderson as a member of the San Diego Padres.
Someone buy that man a beer; congratulations to the Captain of the Yankees!
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