Yanks' core riveted by Jeter's triumph

Posada shaken as longtime teammate ties franchise record

By Brittany Ghiroli / Special to MLB.com

Jorge Posada's three-run homer allowed the Derek Jeter to enjoy a win on the record-tying night. (AP)

09/10/2009 12:50 AM ET

NEW YORK -- Young Karter Chamberlain was standing patiently alongside his father, Joba, while the Yankees right-hander answered questions following Wednesday's start. All of a sudden, a Yankees-issued magazine caught Karter's eye.

"He's good," Karter said, pointing at the cover boy, Derek Jeter.

And while the younger Chamberlain might not grasp the magnitude of Jeter's accomplishment, the second the Yankees' captain connected for a seventh-inning single to pull himself even with Lou Gehrig for the franchise's all-time hits record, there was no question who Wednesday's win belonged to.

"When he came off the field after the third out, after he did it, I went out there, and he was still emotional about it," Jorge Posada said. "So that tells you [the moment] was still with him."

It was with Posada, too, as Jeter's best friend and closest teammate got goose bumps when both benches cleared to take part in the rousing ovation given by the crowd of 45,848 at the new Yankee Stadium.

Entering the game hitless in his previous 12 at-bats, Jeter laid down a bunt single on the first pitch he saw to move within two hits of Gehrig, then shot a double over center fielder B.J. Upton's head in the fifth inning for his second hit of the night. Jeter's seventh-inning single gave him hit No. 2,721, and Posada's three-run homer put the Yankees ahead of the Rays, 4-2, also the final score.

"It would be tough to lose a game when he ties Lou Gehrig," Posada said. "So we needed to win this one."

As for his role in the classic game, Posada said his teammates gave him some ribbing for trying to outdo Jeter on the historic night. But there was no upstaging a record that had stood for 72 years within this storied franchise.

"There's been an awful lot of ballplayers to come through this organization, and to think he's tied for the most hits, he's obviously going to break the record -- it's just incredible," left-hander Andy Pettitte said. "It couldn't happen to a better person. He's a great teammate, a great friend. He's done things the right way. He's a great leader on this team, so you can't say enough about Derek Jeter."

For veteran players like Pettitte, Posada and Mariano Rivera, it was equal parts gratifying and mind-blowing to see a longtime friend and humble leader tie Gehrig's record.

"We came up from the Minor Leagues [together] and have been here for all the good times and the bad times and the tough times, and now to reach that milestone is tremendous," Rivera said. "I can recall the first hit that he had and the first save I had. It's amazing. So if I have to say one thing, I guess, thank God for that. Thank God for making us Yankees."

"I know he isn't too crazy about the spotlight," Pettitte said of Jeter. "But he ought to be proud. He ought to enjoy it, and he ought to feel awfully, awfully good about what he's done."