Yount Joins the 3,000 Club and It’s a Big Hit With Fans : Baseball: He gets historic single against Indians in final game before Brewers go on the road.

Robin Yount, who began his career of quiet consistency as a shy 18-year-old shortstop, became a player for the ages when he got his 3,000th hit Wednesday night.

Yount, hitless in his first three at-bats, singled to right-center field off Cleveland’s Jose Mesa in the seventh inning of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 5-4 loss to the Indians. He became the 17th player to reach 3,000, and the first to do it since Rod Carew in 1985.

“I never really gave it that much thought what it was going to be like,” Yount said. “All along I said it wasn’t any big deal, it’s just going to be another hit. Well, obviously it turned out not to be just another hit.

“The way the fans got into it, the whole thing here, and all the excitement, it really turned into a lot more than I was thinking it was ever going to be.”

It appeared the seventh-inning trip to the plate would be his last opportunity to reach 3,000 before the Brewers begin a trip Friday. Yount ended the game with a liner to short, finishing 1 for 5.

Every other player with 3,000 hits, except career leader Pete Rose, is in the Hall of Fame. Rose is banned from baseball and has not been eligible for election.

Yount, 37 next week, is the third-youngest to reach 3,000. Only Ty Cobb, who was 34, and Hank Aaron, who was 36 years and 4 months, got there at an earlier age.

“It’s hard to describe. Obviously, it’s as exciting a moment as I’ve ever had,” Yount said. “I really really wanted it to happen here, maybe a little too much so. I got caught up in the ordeal in my first three at-bats. I was really disgusted with myself after the last one.

“I said to myself, ‘It’s time to get back in the game.’ ”

After lining an 0-1 pitch to right-center, Yount turned first and was congratulated by first base coach Tim Foli. Longtime teammate Paul Molitor was the next to greet Yount.

“I’ve never felt emotion like that,” Molitor said. “To see Robin respond, it was very unexpected. The tears were flowing. I was pretty numb going up there.”

The Brewers charged the field from their perch atop the dugout steps and hoisted Yount into the air near first base, as a crowd of 47,589 stood and roared.

Yount shook hands with his teammates while thousands of cameras flashed throughout the stands as fans recorded the moment. The ball was saved by Foli, who took it to the dugout, and the first base bag was also taken.

The scoreboard video screen flashed “3,000” and then began showing a retrospective of Yount’s career while he stood at first, hands on knees.

He then waved to the crowd, drawing another roar, and there was another cheer when the names of the 16 others with 3,000 hits were flashed on the scoreboard.

Was the publicity-shy Yount embarrassed by all the attention?

“Embarrassed is not the word,” he said. “It was a great feeling. You don’t get a feeling like that very often. It was something I was going to let last as long as I could.”

He said the loss did temper the excitement: “It was pretty tough. This was a big game for us. We can’t afford to lose too many games if we expect to have a chance to win the division.”

All of Yount’s hits have come for Milwaukee. He broke in with the Brewers in 1974 and has twice been selected the American League’s most valuable player, as a shortstop in 1982 and a center fielder in 1989.

Because Yount has been in Milwaukee, however, he hasn’t received as much acclaim as his contemporaries. He has been an All-Star only three times and never since 1983. George Brett, who was 22 hits away from 3,000 when Yount reached the mark, is a 10-time All-Star.

At Kansas City, Brett applauded in the dugout as Yount’s feat was replayed on the Royals Stadium scoreboard. Brett was hitless in four at-bats Wednesday and remained at 2,978 hits.

“I’m very happy for him. He’s been a good friend,” Brett said. “I’d be lying if the first time I saw him as an 18-year-old, I said, ‘Boy, that guy is going to get 3,000 hits.’ . . . I remember him as a skinny kid who was playing shortstop and had some ability.”

Yount preferred being out of the spotlight. He always said he enjoyed Milwaukee because it allowed him some privacy.

Still, he couldn’t avoid the glare after his 3,000th hit in front of a near-capacity house at County Stadium. He was greeted with standing ovations the whole evening, and flashbulbs popped around all around the ballpark, following his every move.

“I know this is embarrassing for him,” Brewer owner Bud Selig said. “He’ll never forget it now, his children will never forget it now, the people that were here will never forget it. . . . It’s one of the rare moments that makes baseball such an unbelievable game.”

3000-Hit Club

Major league players with 3,000 or more career hits

PLAYER HITS 1. Pete Rose 4,256 2. Ty Cobb 4,191 3. Hank Aaron 3,771 4. Stan Musial 3,630 5. Tris Speaker 3,514 6. Carl Yastrzemski 3,419 7. Honus Wagner 3,418 8. Eddie Collins 3,311 9. Willie Mays 3,283 10. Nap Lajoie 3,244 11. Paul Waner 3,152 12. Rod Carew 3,053 13. Lou Brock 3,023 14. Al Kaline 3,007 15. Cap Anson 3,000 15. Roberto Clemente 3,000 15. Robin Yount 3,000

ON DECK (NEARING 3,000) PLAYER: *George Brett HITS: 2,978 *Through Wednesday