Move over, Captain Gehrig, you’ve got company from Captain Jeter.
The first magical moment in the new Yankee Stadium occurred at 9:18 last night, when Derek Jeter slashed a Jeff Niemann pitch past diving Tampa Bay first baseman Chris Richard and tied Lou Gehrig atop the Yankees’ all-time hit list.
The single to right field in the seventh inning gave Jeter 2,721 career hits, bringing a standing ovation from the crowd of 45,848 that lasted for 2½ minutes and prompted Jeter to twice tip his helmet as he stood at first base. Some of the applause came from the visitor’s dugout.
PHOTOS: JETER THROUGH THE YEARS
The Yankees’ 4-2 victory that completed a four-game sweep of the Rays — and lowered their AL East magic number to 14 — was an afterthought. Jeter now needs one hit to set the Yankees’ all-time record. After an off day today, he’ll get his first shot tomorrow night against the Orioles and rookie right-hander Chris Tillman.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,” Jeter said. “Pretty much everywhere I’ve gone this entire homestand, I’ve been hearing it on the street, in cabs, at the Stadium, ‘When are you going to get a hit?’ It’s something, without question, I’ll remember this day. I thought what the fans did was pretty special.
“You had so many cameras going off and the fans were really anticipating it and they were loud. You don’t want to say it was a relief, but afterwards I was pretty excited I was able to do it tonight.”
All told, Jeter finished 3-for-4 with two singles and a double, ending a torturous three-game stretch in which he appeared to be pressing at the plate.
Jeter snapped an 0-for-12 skid — his longest hitless drought of the season — by bunting for a single in the first inning on the first pitch he saw from Niemann. In the third inning, he grounded out to shortstop. With one out in the fifth, Jeter launched a shot to deep center for a double — a ball B.J. Upton appeared to loaf after — bringing him within one hit of Gehrig.
After Brett Gardner and pinch hitter Eric Hinske were retired in the seventh, Jeter smashed Niemann’s first pitch between Richard and the foul line, a no-doubter that left him tied with Gehrig, whose final hit came on April 29, 1939, when he delivered a fourth-inning single against Washington.
“I was a Yankee fan growing up and to come up through this organization and what [Gehrig] stood for, being the captain, he’s probably one of the classiest people to ever play the game,” Jeter said. “To be alongside him, pretty much anything you can do to have your name next to his is quite an accomplishment.”
Jeter came to the plate in the eighth with a chance to set the record, but walked on a 3-2 pitch from reliever Grant Balfour.
With one more hit, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jeter will become the sixth different Yankee to hold the franchise record. Willie Keeler (1903-11), Hal Chase (1911-22), Wally Pipp (1922-29), Babe Ruth (1929-37) and Gehrig are the other members of that club.
“For [Jeter], just a huge night — a great night at the Stadium,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s tied, so there’s only one hit now to worry about.”
Jeter’s closest friend on the team, Jorge Posada, added to the pageantry by blasting a pinch-hit, three-run homer off Balfour in the eighth to put the Yankees ahead. The Yanks trailed 2-0 entering the inning.
“We had so many special moments across the street,” Jeter said. “This is hopefully the first of many memorable moments here at the new Stadium. The fans have been tremendous and it’s just a lot of fun.”