By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Derek Jeter joined the ranks of Yankee immortals Wednesday night when he hit a seventh-inning single to tie Lou Gehrig for the team record in hits.
Play stopped for several minutes as fans gave Jeter a standing ovation.
Tomorrow, the Captain will go up against the Orieoles to set his own record as he goes for 2,722 hits as a Yankee.
"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 told the New York Post.
"To be alongside him, pretty much anything you can do to have your name next to his is quite an accomplishment."
The Bombers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 to sweep a five-game series after catcher Jorge Posada’s three-run homer in the eighth inning.
Jeter snapped a 0-for-12 slump with a bunt single in the first inning. He added two more hits to match Gehrig.
"People kept asking if I felt the pressure to break the record, but it was more that I hadn't been swinging the bat well since we left home," Jeter told the Daily News. "Sometimes when you're not swinging the bat well, just getting that first hit helps you relax a little."
Rays players also joined in congratulating Jeter.
“I did not want to disrespect them when I was at first base,” Jeter said to the New York Times.
“I appreciated what the fans did and I wanted to acknowledge them. I still felt kind of awkward because I didn’t want to do anything that would upset them. When I saw them giving me an ovation, that is something I will definitely appreciate for a long time.”
Jeter will try to break the record at Yankee Stadium.
