Congrats to the Captain! #3,000 In Style!

Hey everyone, Drew back here. So, after waking up nice and late today, I took a shower, and realized it was about 1:00. I turned on the Yankee game and threw on my Derek Jeter pinstripe jersey. Jeter, who was 2 hits away from 3,000 just 2 hours ago, got a base hit in the first inning, and then he came up in the 3rd inning. Yankee Stadium was booming for the Captain to reach his 3,000th career hit, and Derek worked the count to 3-2, and after fouling off a few pitches, Jeter came up clutch once again, driving the ball off David Price into the bleachers for his 3,000th career hit!

I didn't start to follow baseball to the level I have, until about 2005. I remember watching the Red Sox eliminate my Yankees back in 2004, which was tough to swallow, but got me into baseball so much more. Whether he was batting 1st or 2nd in the order, I always loved to watch Derek Jeter play, especially when I started to watch baseball. With thanks to the Yankees worldwide popularity, his name became larger than life, and while their statistics don't compare, he is currently the Babe Ruth of baseball in terms of popularity.

Watching Jeter start to struggle these past two seasons have been tough, but it's also around that time that the good years of his career started to pay off. Last year, he passed Lou Gehrig for sole possession of the most hits ever by a Yankee player. And now, he joins the famous 3,000 hit club, becoming the 28th player ever to do so. Among his company are 24 Hall of Famers, including a future Hall of Famer in Craig Biggio, and two players that may never may Cooperstown due to their respective controversies: Pete Rose and Rafael Palmeiro. When the captain calls it quits, Cooperstown will be waiting for him, and there is no way I'm missing it.

While as of now I think of the fun loving, and fan favorite outfielder Nick Swisher as my favorite baseball player, I have an extreme amount of respect for Derek Jeter, and after all, until Swish came to the Bronx, Jeter was my favorite player. He got me into the National Junior Honor Society last year, when I wrote an essay about why I look up to him as a role model and idol. While he may be bothering his neighbors with a fancy mansion, and may be asking for too much money, he is a great role model and I'm proud to look up at him.

As I speak, Jeter continues to be clutch, now 4-4 in the game, giving him 3,002 hits lifetime! He needs a triple for the cycle, as if this day has not been enough of a fairytale, as Michael Kay says.

Congratulations to Derek Jeter, and thank you for all the wonderful memories you've given New York over your incredible career! Here's to many, many more clutch hits in a clutch career!

See Ya!

*UPDATE: Jeter singled for the 3rd time following this post, and finished his magical day going 5-5!*

Congrats to The Captain!!!

for passing Lou Gehrig for the most hits in a Yankee uniform, with 2,722 career hits!

The most classy player I've ever seen, person in fact. My non-related to me idol, always my favorite player, and now he has achieved an amazing Yankee feat. This isn't the record for most hits as a Padre, Marlin, or Diamond Back. This is a record for the Yankees, the most famous sports team in history, with 26 world series championships under the belt. And to think that Derek Sanderson Jeter passed "The Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Joe Dimaggio in hits as a Yankee is truly remarkable.

I heard a story last night told by Michael Kay about how Dick Groat said before the 1992 draft that Jeter wasn't just on his way to the big leagues, he was on his way to Cooperstown. That is some story to think about 2,722 hits later, as the road to Cooperstown for the 4 time World Series champion gets even closer. He should eventually hit 3,000 hits in his career, and would be the only Yankee to this point to achieve that (other than Winfield, who didn't spend his whole career with them.). So, here's to you Derek Jeter, keep up the excellent work, it's been a fun ride watching you play baseball for the New York Yankees. Thanks Derek!

By the way, this is for the people who think he's overrated, too bad he's only hitting .331 this year, fielding unbelievably, with 17 homers! Come on, you haters, take a look at the stat book some time, and get a chance to see what he has done!

Congrats to Rick Porcello!

For beating up Kevin Youkilis!

This is awesome! ROID RAGE!!!!

Congrats to A-Rod!

For breaking a 73 at bat homerless streak last night!

I watched one of the best games I've ever seen last night. Yankees vs. Red Sox, Game 2 in the new Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett faced off against A.J. Burnett in a battle that will certainly be on the Yankee classics (New Yorkers, you know hat I'm talking about). Beckett pitched 7 innings, allowed 0 runs and gave up only 4 hits. A.J. Burnett pitched 7+ innings only allowing 1 hit (6 walks, who cares?) and 0 runs. The score was 0-0 and regulation ended, but the game was just about to begin. The Red Sox had great relief, with Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard, Ramon Ramirez, Papelbon, Delcarmen, and Saito, and the Yankees also did with Phil Hughes who got a huge out, Mariano, Aceves, Brian Bruney (who almost lost the game, cmon Bruney get it together!), and Coke. I didn't mention one reliever, and that was Junichi Tazawa, and he pitched the 14th and 15th innings.

In the 15th, after two quick outs, Mark Teixeira had a single, and A-Rod was up. After a pitch that just missed, the count was 2-1, and A-Rod crushed the next pitch, into the bleachers, breaking his 73 AB scoreless home run streak with a walk off homer that broke a 0-0 tie. The final score was 2-0. This will be a Yankee classic.

AND WE'RE 4 1/2 GAMES UP!!!! YEAH!!!

Congrats to Melky Cabrera!

Well, the Yankees needed this. Today, after losing the 1st 3 games in the series, the Yankees beat the White Sox 8-5 today, and the star of the show was Melky Cabrera. Melky had 4 hits in this game: a single, double, triple, and a home run! He became the newest Yankee to hit for the cycle, Tony Fernandez being the last one to do so in 1995. Melky ironically hasn't had a triple this year until today! Perfect timing, especially when you hit it in the 9th inning. Boston won their game, so the Yankees are still 1/2 a game ahead of them. So again, congrats to Melky Cabrera!

By the way, Melky this year has a .283 batting average with 9 home run and 36 rbi. After Brett Gardner being named the starting CF for the Yanks in the pre-season, Melky was determined to have a good season, and here he is:

Congratulations!

Congrats to Mariano Rivera for picking up his 500th career save, joining Trevor Hoffman as the only 2 closers to ever achieve this. Although Rivera seems to put every other closer ahead of him, he is my favorite closer of all time and many people would say so as well. His cutter has put him on the top of the game, and he earned it. A great player. A great guy. A great teammate. That's Mariano Rivera, no matter how you put it.

Before I go, I want to thank Sooz from "A Cardboard Problem" and McCann Can Triple from "A Rookie (Baseball) Collector" for becoming my 19th and 20th subscribers. Enjoy the website and feel free to leave any comments on any posts you would like. If you haven't already, check out their blogs here and here. Thanks again, and see ya!