We interrupt the usual Civil War banter with breaking news about a Yankee making history …
Derek Jeter reaches 3,000 hits with a home run in the third inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
As most of you might know by now, Jeter is the first Yankee to reach 3,000 hits as a Yankee; he is only the second MLB player to do so by hitting a home run (Tampa Bay’s Wade Boggs, a former Yankee, was the first).
Jeter is well known for his meticulous preparation and attention to detail, as we see here:
A few years ago, my daughter Becca and I prepared an essay on Jeter for an encyclopedia on African American icons edited by my colleague and friend, Matthew Whitaker. Check out page 107 (I took the photograph in question). So, yes, I’m just doing research.
UPDATE: So what does Jeter do next? Three more hits (a 5 for 5 day), including driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth as the Yankees beat the Rays, 5-4. All you can say is that these things happen because he is … Derek Jeter.
More evidence that real life is greater than fiction.
Crossroads 
No apologies, but Derek Jeter’s reaching of 3,000 hits underwhelms me.
Brooks,
Now that was something to see. Much like you, we both remember when he made his debut in 1995. One call that always sticks out with me was when he hit his first HR in Cleveland, and the Scooter was the one who called it on TV.
Congrats Derek. 🙂
Steve
In baseball, there are 2 kinds of fans, those who love the Yankees and those who hate the Yankees. I fall into the latter catagory. Still, I must give Derek his due. He has always been a class act so I can forgive him for being a hated Yankee.
ps. I’m a lifelong Dodger fan so I have nothing to brag about these days!
Just want to note that Jeter is from Kalamazoo, MI, and is a big University of Michigan football fan.
Let’s see – a lifetime Yankee. Strike 1. Roots for Michigan in football – strike 2. But I have to give him his due for reaching this milestone in as short a time frame as he did. And like you, Greg, I grew up rooting for the O’Malleys. Maybe we can pony up enough money to buy out the Parking Lot Attendant (courtesy of the Bankruptcy Court, and the Divorce Court, of course).
Obviously, he got those hits because God wanted him to.
Uh, oops! Wrong post.
I absolutely hate the Yankees. I am a life long Red Sox fan. I think we should use Yankee Stadium as a nuclear waste dump.
That said Mr. Jeter’s accomplishment is truly splendid and a fine contribution to a storied franchise.
I have never had a problem with the name on the back of his jersey…only the front.
I tip my hat….and now back to my usual hating all things New York Yankee.
Of course, the Yankees do not wear individual names on the back of their jerseys. 🙂