His long-awaited hit came in style during Saturday’s game: with a home run into the left-field seats.
Inching ever closer over the past few weeks, Derek Jeter was poised reach 3,000 hits. A few no-hit games and a rainout looked to stave off Jeter’s record hit until after the All-Star Break. But on a sunny Saturday in the Bronx, Jeter hit a bomb to left field to mark the milestone in no quiet fashion. His solo home run cracked off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays ace pitcher David Price, after which he trotted triumphantly around the bags and into a huddling mass of his pinstriped teammates.
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Jeter became the 28th major leaguer to cross the 3,000-hit mark. But perhaps the best record of all was that he became only the second player to cross the threshold with a home run, a milestone he shares with former Yankee Wade Boggs.
At the age of 37 years, 13 days, Jeter is the fourth-youngest player to reach 3,000 hits. The spry shortstop will no doubt keep cranking baseballs off his bat to keep moving up the hit list.
Nick Carbone is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.
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