Rant #543 (July 11, 2011): A Flair For the Dramatic

Well, it took an extra day, but the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter has finally gone into the record books as he collected his 3,000th hit during Saturday's game with the Tampa Bay Rays.

And he collected his 3,001st, 3,002nd, and 3,003rd hits too.

And before all that, he got his 2,999th hit, which set the whole day up.

And his 3,000th hit was a home run.

And his 3,003rd hit was the game winner.

Does this guy have a flair for the dramatic or what?

Even Jeter said in postgame interviews that nobody would buy this if it was merely a script for a Hollywood movie.

But it actually happened!

Jeter simply rises to the occasion. He knows when something is big, and this day was big for himself.

He wanted to get his 3,000th hit at home, and since there was a rainout on Friday, he had just two games to do it before the All-Star break. After the All-Star break, the Yankees go into the second half of the 2011 season on the road, so it was almost an imperative that he get the hit this weekend.

And he did.

And the guy who caught the homerun gave up the ball willingly. He could have made thousands off of it, but he just felt it was the right thing to do.

Yes, the Yankees gave him plenty of stuff in return, including the use of a luxury box for the rest of the season, into the playoffs and World Series, if the Bronx Bombers are lucky enough to get there.

But Jeter's 3,003rd hit was actually the bigger hit, as it brought in what amounted to the winning run in a tight 5-4 game.

And for the record, for good measure, Jeter got another hit yesterday in the Yankees' 1-0 victory over the Rays, so he is now up to 3,004.

Anybody want to start a countdown for 3,500? How about 4,000?