TRIBUTE:Rays first baseman Casey Kotchman salutes Derek Jeter as he rounds first base after belting a home run for his 3,000th career hit during the Yankees’ 5-4 win at the Stadium yesterday. (AP)
Rays outfielder Johnny Damon wanted to do something special for his former teammate, Derek Jeter. And Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon realized it, so after a respectful pause to allow the Yankees to celebrate the delirium of Jeter’s 3,000th hit yesterday, the skipper asked Damon to lead the Rays in a round of applause.
“I thank Joe because I was being asked how was I going to do it,” said Damon, who had nothing but praise and respect — OK, maybe a little bit of begrudging competitiveness — for Jeter after a 5-for-5 day that included hit No. 3,000, a long drive into the left-field bleachers. “When he hit the home run, first you’re upset they just tied the game, but the type of person Derek is, you’re very excited for him. Everybody in this clubhouse respects Derek Jeter and it was great seeing our team applaud him.
“I even told him before the game how proud I was for him. I don’t think anyone envisioned a 5-for-5 game and driving in the game-winner. But that’s what he did.”
Rays first baseman Casey Kotchman said he wanted to shake Jeter’s hand at first on the 3,000th hit. But Kotchman anticipated a “typical” Jeter hit, maybe a single to right. So as Jeter circled the bases after delivering a third-inning shot — “There’s not a park in the league that’s going to hold that ball,” pitcher David Price admitted — Kotchman simply tipped his cap.
“That’s what makes him Derek Jeter,” Kotchman said.
For Matt Joyce, another Rays All-Star, it was the second time he was in a ballpark for a 3,000th hit. He saw Wade Boggs homer for his No. 3,000 at Tampa Bay. Ironically, only Boggs and Jeter delivered homers as hit No. 3,000 among the 28 guys who have reached the lofty plateau.
“That’s pretty amazing. I’ve got to be one of the very few [who saw both],” Joyce said. “But today was really his day. That [5-for-5] was pretty amazing. I think the whole state of New York felt it for him today. If you couldn’t hear them cheering his name, you must be deaf.”
And despite the loss, the Rays appreciated the history involved, most of all Damon, having played with Jeter for four seasons in The Bronx, including the championship season of 2009.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Damon said. “Everything he’s accomplished in the game is amazing, and the fact that he just keeps plugging away and keeps doing things that keep amazing us. I was very fortunate to be his teammate for four years and been very fortunate to play against him for 17 years.
“It was a great moment for Derek and his family and for the history of the Yankee franchise. Obviously, we wanted a different hit and not that good of a game from him, but Derek stands for the good stuff in baseball. I’m proud of him.”