April 15, 2000. 25 years ago today, Baltimore third baseman Cal Ripken Jr. hit three singles in a 6-4 Orioles victory. Ripken had entered the day three hits shy of 3,000 for his career.
Ripken’s status as a baseball legend had been long-established well before that April.
His rookie season concluded with the Rookie of the Year Award and a World Series title. The next year included the first of 19 consecutive All-Star appearances, the first of eight Silver Slugger Awards, and the AL MVP.
Eight years later, in 1991, he’d add a second MVP Award.
Ripken’s legend grew further in 1995 when he surpassed Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record.
In 1998, he finally took himself out of the lineup.
He’d hit his 400th career home run in 1999, becoming the first player to do so while playing most of their career at shortstop.
By the start of the 2000 season, there was little left for Ripken to accomplish on the diamond but he remained nine hits shy of 3,000.
Ripken got off to a slow start in 2000. He’d only collect six hits through Baltimore’s first 10 games of the season, posting a meager .176/.256/.410 line.
April 15 was a Saturday and Baltimore was in Minnesota for the second of a two-game set with the Twins. Twins right-hander Sean Bergman got the start.
Bergman was in what would be the final year of his 8-year journeyman career. Minnesota had claimed him off of waivers from the Braves during the offseason and the 30-year-old made the Twins rotation to start the year. He’d make 14 starts for the Twins, posting a 9.66 ERA and 2.118 WHIP across 68 innings before Minnesota would release him in June.
Hitting fifth in the lineup, Ripken grounded out to first base to end the first inning.
He singled in the 4th, a line drive hit to right field that pushed Harold Baines to third base.
He’d single again in the 5th, a chopper to the left side of the infield that Ripken beat out. B.J. Surhoff moved to third on the play.
Minnesota went to the bullpen after six innings, with the game tied 4-4. Travis Miller came in and faced the first few batters, picking up a pair of outs but allowing a double to Albert Belle. Héctor Carrasco would come in to replace Miller with Ripken coming to the plate again.
Like Bergman, Carrasco was a journeyman throughout his career, playing for seven teams over his 14-year career. By 2000 he was a 30-year-old reliever posting a 4.69 ERA over 78.2 IP. He’d spent most of the year with the Twins before an early September trade to Boston for the stretch run. Carrasco would return to the Twins as a free agent two years later.
A passed ball in the at-bat allowed Belle to score from third before Ripken would single to center field.
The game came to a halt. The Minnesota fans rose to their feet to give Ripken a standing ovation. His former teammate and the club’s then-1B coach, Eddie Murray, embraced Ripken on the field.
Once things settled down, the game would resume. Surhoff would homer in the 9th to add another Baltimore run before Mike Trombley closed out the 6-4 win.
Ripken became the 24th member of the 3,000 hit club. He also became just the seventh player with 3,000 hits and at least 400 homers (joining Murray, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Dave Winfield, and Carl Yastrzemski).
The future HOFer would pick up 70 more hits before the 2000 season ended, as recurring back pain would limit him to 339 plate appearances over 83 games. He would return for the 2001 season but it would be his last in MLB. He’d add another 114 hits that final season, putting his final career total at 3,184.