Derek becomes the first New York Yankees player to reach major milestone

NEW YORK - David Price never wanted a role on Derek Jeter's highlight reel.

There he was, though, serving up a home run Saturday for career hit No 3,000 and stepping aside at the plate as the Yankees captain crossed.

"I'd rather not be the answer to that trivia question, but I am," Price said. "It's tough. He's one of the best players ever to play baseball. He was going to do it off of somebody and it just so happened to be me."

No shame in that.

Besides, nobody else on Tampa Bay's pitching staff could handle Jeter, either.

He raced right past the 3,000-hit plateau in a scintillating performance at Yankees Stadium, going 5 for 5 with a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning that gave New York a 5-4 victory over the Rays.

"You would have liked for him to just have had two hits and that's it, but it was a great baseball game," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "There was a great buzz to this place. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us today. I'm sure as the years go by we can look back on today and appreciate it even more."

Jeter (pictured) doubled and had three singles while starting a pair of Yankees rallies and finishing off their last one. He bounced a single through the left side his first time up to give him No 2,999, then sent a no-doubt drive deep into the left-field bleachers off Price in the third inning.

That made Jeter the 28th major leaguer to get 3,000 hits, one of baseball's biggest milestones, and the first to do it with the Yankees. Former teammate Wade Boggs was the only other player to reach the mark with a home run.

"I was excited, but to be honest with you, I was pretty relieved," Jeter said. "I've been lying to you guys for a long time saying I wasn't nervous and there was no pressure. I mean, there was a lot of pressure to do it here."

By the end of the day, Jeter had improved to 9 for 28 (.321) with two home runs against Price. Jeter also homered off him in the All-Star lefty's major league debut in September 2008.

"I looked up at the scoreboard and I saw that right before I threw that last pitch. It was unreal," Price said. "I wanted to throw my game and it just didn't happen."

The latest shot by Jeter set off quite a celebration in the Bronx, with teammates mobbing him at home plate in a pack of pinstripes before he took a curtain call and saluted the sellout crowd of 48,103. The game was held up for four minutes, and Jeter also acknowledged Price and the Tampa Bay players who applauded.

"I was just spinning out there," said Price, touched up on a full-count curveball. "It's all kind of a blur right now."

What a moment for No. 2, though. His second hit of the game - and right at 2 p.m.

Moments later, a montage of messages from Jeter's ex-teammates was shown on the big video board in center field. By the fourth inning, the screen showed DJ3K merchandise flying off the shelves at Yankee Stadium souvenir shops.

"It was a great moment for Derek and his family and the history of the Yankee franchise," said former teammate Johnny Damon, who led the cheers from the Rays dugout. "Derek stands for the good stuff in baseball. I'm proud of him. Everybody in this clubhouse respects Derek Jeter."

The home run was Jeter's third of the season and first at home since an inside-the-park shot July 22, 2010, against Kansas City. But the 37-year-old captain was just warming up in a turn-back-the-clock performance - and the Yankees needed all of it.

Eduardo Nunez, perhaps Jeter's heir apparent at shortstop, doubled to start the eighth against Joel Peralta (2-4). Brett Gardner dropped down a sacrifice bunt to push Nunez to third and up stepped Jeter again, looking to cap his big day in style.

Tampa Bay brought the infield in and Jeter poked a two-strike pitch up the middle, giving New York a 5-4 lead and prompting another round of "De-rek Je-ter!" chants. A sign in the stands read "Mr 3,000".

"It doesn't surprise me at all. Everything he's accomplished in the game is amazing," Damon said. "Hopefully he can act very well and hopefully he can play himself in his own movie. That's the type of day that this was."

Associated Press

(China Daily 07/11/2011 page23)