Derek Jeter Surpasses 3,000 Hits in Shocking Fashion

Derek Jeter chased the 3,000 hits milestone all year, giving Yankees fans a long time to dream how it would end. Most figured that Jeter would get the 3,000th hit on a regular old single or double, especially since he isn't a home run hitter. But in the third inning of Saturday's game with Tampa Bay, the Yankees captain reached the milestone in a way that may not be duplicated for a long time. At the least, it erased all the negativity that had surrounded him before the big day.

Jeter wasn't the first player to get to 3,000 hits with a home run, as Wade Boggs did it years earlier, while with Tampa Bay. But at 2 p.m. ET, No. 2 became the second to knock No. 3,000 out of the park, on a 3-2 pitch off of David Price.

However, that wasn't the end of his day, as not only did Jeter get the two hits he needed, he got three more to go along with it. In fact, his most important hit was No. 3,003 of his career, as it drove home the winning run in the eighth inning to solidify a 5-4 win.

It seemed that the shortstop's ability to get 5-for-5 days had passed him by, given his struggles in the last year and a half. But for this massive day, his recent difficulties, and the new-found questions on whether he should stay the Yankees' leadoff hitter, were all brushed aside. Now, the hope is that this can propel him to a big second half during the pennant chase.

The Yankees will really need him to get going in the next several weeks, after Alex Rodriguez was found to have a torn meniscus in his right knee. He will miss a month if he can't play through it, although the Yankees have recently found a way to win without their big stars. The team went 14-4 while Jeter was out with his own injury, and had actually gone 1-3 with him back before Saturday afternoon.

Despite being the Yankee captain, New York doesn't need to rely on him that much to win anymore, thanks to the likes of Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano. But his two RBIs made the difference against the Rays, and if he has a few more days like that in August and September, it could make a bigger difference in the AL East race.

At the least, the Yankees have to be relieved that Jeter reached 3000 hits before the All-Star break arrived- and before they went on a post All-Star break road trip. Now that he reached the mark at Yankee Stadium at long last, Sunday's series finale will serve as one final victory lap. After that, the win column will be the biggest number on the minds of Jeter and the Yankees fans again.

Sources

Yahoo Sports- "Jeter homers for 3000'th hit, goes 5 for 5 in win"