Almost as if the ghost of Lou Gehrig didn't want it to happen, a rain delay put off Derek Jeter's record-breaking hit. And it didn't happen in the first AB either, when Jeter struck out. The drenched fans had to wait for his second AB, in the third inning, to witness history.
In typical Jeterian fashion, he lined a single between (ironically) the first-baseman and the foul line. Standing on first, he then tipped his cap and the whole team exited the dugout to congratulate and, occasionally, hug him. Another tipped cap and the game resumed.
What a historic night! No one in the storied history of the New York Yankees, spanning 106 years, including some of the greatest hitters of all-time (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, etc.), have ever had more hits than Derek Jeter. And as jscape astutely pointed out, every hit Jeter gets from here on out sets the bar ever higher for the next contender.
There could not be a better player or person to break a record held by one of the classiest ballplayers in history.
There did happen to be a game played, and it was downright fugly. It looked to be an easy night when Alex Rodriguez belted a three-run homer with one out in the first, but it would not last long.
Andy Pettitte struggled through five and seemed unnerved by the weather, as did most of the pitchers.
Damaso Marte is pitching his way off the postseason roster. He clearly cannot be trusted against righties, or even lefties for that matter.
To go against the old adage about diving into firstbase, Brett Gardner beat out a slow grounder by doing just that, diving head-long into first. It sure looked like he was going to be out, but then he dove and clearly beat Chris Tillman's foot. Then, according to Murphy's Law, his speed had to hurt him: he overran third base on Jeter's next hit and was tagged out.
Outside of Jeter's historic night, this was a largely forgettable game. It took more than six hours (including two rain delays) from the scheduled first pitch to complete this mess.