Pursuit Of 3,000 Takes A Stop To The DL

Jeter's injury might allow him to join the
3,000-hit club at home.

It has been a tough year and a half for New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter and Tuesday wasn't any better. In the second of inning of Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, Jeter was running out a fielder's choice to first base when he appeared to hurt his right calf. The shortstop stayed in the game, but after he flew out to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning, he gingerly ran to first in obvious pain. Jeter didn't return to play defense the following half inning as utility infielder Eduardo Nunez replaced the seventeen-year veteran.

    Jeter has suffered a Grade I strain of his right calf and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday leaving a huge hole atop the Yankees order.

    This is the first time Jeter has been on the disabled list since 2003 when he suffered a separated shoulder on Opening Day against the Toronto Blue Jays. The injury now puts Jeter's pursuit of becoming the first Yankees and 28th player in history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau to a straining hault.

    Jeter singled in his first at-bat Monday giving him 2,994 hits for his career, closing the gap to 6 hits shy of a mark that dignifies longevity and consistency.

    With Jeter now on the disabled list and two games left on New York's current home stand, the possibility of the captain doing it in front of a sold out Yankee Stadium or at least in New York never seemed more apparent.

    The eleven-time All-Star is eligible to come off the disabled list on the fifth game of the Yankees next home stand in an Interleague game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 29th. There Jeter will have two games to try and get six hits before New York heads out on to the road once again. However, the Yankees play their second of their two annual Subway Series meetings with the New York Mets on the year to begin the road trip, giving Jeter the chance to at least reach the milestone in the Big Apple.

    Many Yankee fans remember closer Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save in the final game of the first Subway Series at Citi Field back in 2009. It might be a fitting place if not at the Stadium for Jeter to do it there.

Rivera recorded his 500th career save away
from the Stadium back in '09.

Jeter is already the Yankees all-time hits leader with his current mark, growing with every hit, after he passed the mythical Lou Gehrig in '09. He also passed Gehrig for the all-time hits mark at the Old Yankee Stadium in it's final year of play with 1,274 hits during his time in the House That Ruth Built.

    In 62 games this season Jeter is batting .260 with 2 home runs and 20 runs batted in and while those are not the number we are accustom to seeing with the Yankee captain we should be celebrating this historic moment rather than critcize one of the greatest players in Yankee history.