Yankees shortstop and franchise cornerstone Derek Jeter made his 3,000th career hit count in the Bronx today, knocking a solo home run to left field in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. At 37, Jeter is the fourth youngest player to reach the milestone, and the first in Yankee's history. Recently he's faced scrutiny after batting his lowest average of his career—.251—in 2010, and signed a three-year, $51 million contract that the Yankees seemed to give him begrudgingly. "It's kind of hard to enjoy it when there’s a lot of negativity that’s out there," Jeter told the Times before today's game, “Hopefully, I might be able to enjoy it the next few days.”
After a 0-for-4 outing on Monday, Jeter's bounced back from his stint on the DL this week with a few solid performances against the Indians. According to ESPN, Jeter's the second player to hit a homer for his 3,000th hit: Wade Boggs was the first in 1999. Currently the Rays are on top of the Yankees, 3-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning. Watch a video of Jeter's 3,00th hit here.
