July 9, 2011, was like a fairy tale in the Bronx. It was a beautiful summer day and The New York Yankees were up against The Tampa Bay Rays. All eyes were on Derek Jeter, who was making a slow comeback from an injury. Although not a prolific home run hitter, The Captain only had two long balls under his belt for the season so far. But that’s not why fans’ eyes were glued to his every move.

Jeter was one of those players who were always all about baseball. Never comfortable answering questions about himself, but would gladly interact with the media for his team. However, in 2011, the retired shortstop was about to join a very special club. The pressure was on, more than ever before. For once, everyone’s attention would be directed to the individual rather than the team.

Derek Jeter Felt Unimaginable Pressure Before 3000th Hit

A huge milestone was achieved on July 9, 2011, against the Rays’ future Cy Young winner David Price. Not only did Derek Jeter hit his career 3000th hit, it was a home run, just his third of the season. Jeter was only the second ballplayer to hit his 3000th ball with a moonshot after former teammate Wade Boggs. But the journey to get there was not easy.

“The thing is I struggled, I always struggled when it was all about me. Which is why I struggled, in my mind, I struggled my last year,” the retired Yankees slugger said in an interview in November 2022. “Because it was all about me, unfortunately, it was all about me. And answering questions not about the team, it was strictly on me.”

“So, leading up to 3000 hits I struggled bad, you know, and I got hurt. Um, all I wanted was when I got my 3000th hit, I wanted it to be a clean hit. ‘Cause it’s going to be shown over and over and over and over again. I wanted to do it at Yankee Stadium, put a lot of pressure on myself to do it at Yankee Stadium.”

It was one of the best games of Jeter’s career. Not only did the Yankees beat the Rays 5-4, the Captain went 5-for-5 on a perfectly dramatic day.

Jeter Was the First Yankees Player to Join the 3000-Hit Club

Incidentally, the only other Pinstriper to have done it is Jeter’s frenemy Alex Rodriguez, in 2015. To this day, Captain Clutch remains the only Bronx player to achieve all 3000 hits entirely in Pinstripes. It was such an iconic moment that even Jeter couldn’t believe it. “If you wrote this as a script, even I wouldn?t have bought it,” he said at the time.

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While The Yankees dugout emptied out onto the field to hug Jeter, even the Rays applauded the opposing shortstop that day. The moment was a much anticipated one, and it did not disappoint.

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