2Day's 2Cents: Jeter marches toward 3,000

Derek Jeter has resumed his march toward 3,000 hits, and it now seems inevitable that The Captain will reach the mark very soon. The secondary ticket market is full of folks trying to cash in on fans guessing which day Jeter -- who reached 2,997 hits with a double Wednesday -- will hit the milestone. ¶ When the big moment arrives, Jeter will be the 28th player to join a pretty exclusive group. To help you adequately prepare, here are some facts about the 3,000 Hit Club:• Twenty-five of the 27 players in the club hit either a single or double for their 3,000th hit. Paul Molitor, who of course did it with the Twins, remains the only player to reach the plateau with a triple. Wade Boggs is the only player to homer for his 3,000th hit -- peculiar because of the 11 players (including Boggs) to reach the milestone in the past 20 seasons, he has the fewest career home runs at 118.

• Nine players have between 3,000 and 3,060 hits, with all but one of them reaching that mark after 1970. Another eight players finished their careers 100 hits or fewer shy of the coveted 3,000. The vast majority retired more than 60 years ago (Barry Bonds at 2,935 being the major exception), showing how important reaching the milestone has become.

• Jeter just turned 37 in late June. Only six players were 37 or younger when they reached 3,000 hits -- including the top five all-time hit leaders (Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Tris Speaker). Cobb, at 34, was the youngest.

• A player has reached the milestone in every month from April through October. Cal Ripken is the only player to do it in April -- at the Metrodome, off Hector Carrasco, on April 15, 2000. Butch Huskey batted cleanup for the Twins that day, but we don't need to talk about that. Rickey Henderson did it on Oct. 7, 2001 -- the only hit club member to do it in that month.

• The worst batting average of any member of the club? Ripken, at .276. He's followed by Henderson (.279) and Craig Biggio (.281). To put that in perspective, Jacque Jones was a career .277 hitter. He just needed another 7,000 at-bats or so, and he could have made it to 3,000. Jeter (.312) would have to go hitless in roughly his next 1,250 at-bats to match Ripken's career average.

• And finally, Biggio was the most recent player to join the club (June 28, 2007). Best bet to be the next to hit the milestone after Jeter: his teammate, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod has 2,762 after adding two Wednesday. He's still only 35 (about to turn 36) and has a shot to pass 3,000 late next season. Ivan Rodriguez (2,842) and Omar Vizquel (2,831) are closer, but neither is still an everyday player.

MICHAEL RAND