Derek Jeter finally got his 3,000th hit and a lucky fan is getting to meet his idol. On a picture perfect Saturday afternoon and Yankee Stadium buzzing with anticipation after Jeter singled in the first inning to bring him within one hit of reaching the milestone, Jeter jacked a 3-2 slider from David Price into the upper deck in left center field for a solo home-run and Yankees history.
As Jeter rounded the bases, Tampa Bay Rays first baseman tipped his cap to the Yankees shortstop while Jeter's teammates gathered at home plate to greet the Captain. Price quietly placed his mitt on the mound and quietly walked over to the the Rays dugout. The now-infamous pitcher knew there would be a long celebration.
Jorge Posada, probably Jeter's closest freind on the Yankees, was the first to give him a heart-felt hug followed by Mariano Rivera.
Both dugouts were standing at the rails and the crowd oohed and ahhed every swing Jeter took after the first hit. They knew the next one would mean they were a part of Yankees history.
The third inning home run tied the game and was Jeter's second of the game. You wouldn't be hard-pressed to believe Jeter was just as happy for the long-awaited hit as he was that it tied the game. Contributing to the team is what Jeter is all about.
The 48,000-plus fans who witnessed the historic moment started lining up at the concession stands buy mementos minutes after the hit and the love fest continued a full ten minutes after he got No. 3,000.
Jeter did his part to keep everyone happy by doubling and scoring in the fifth.
The fan who caught the historic home-run ball, Christian Lopez, a young man from upstate returned the ball for four Champion Suite tickets through the World Series.
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