Murray’s 3,000th Hit One to Talk About : Baseball: Indians’ designated hitter gets it off Twins’ Trombley and becomes second switch-hitter to reach milestone.

To hear Eddie Murray tell it, hit No. 3,000 was the same as the 2,999 that preceded it.

Murray became only the second switch-hitter and only the 20th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits when he singled in the sixth inning Friday night.

Murray joined Pete Rose, the career hit leader with 4,256, as the lone switch-hitters to get 3,000. He made it to the mark by grounding a single through the right side for the Cleveland Indians off Minnesota’s Mike Trombley.

“It feels good to get it out of the way,” Murray said. “Now the joking’s over.

“I hope things get back to normal. It’ll be a lot better once I’m done playing. I never set 3,000 as a goal. I know there were people out there happier than I was. It’s not what I was focused on.”

Murray, who got his 2,999th hit Thursday night but went hitless in his last four at-bats of the game, drew a walk from Trombley in the second inning and flied out in the fourth. Murray finished one for three in a 4-1 victory.

When he stepped in the batter’s box in the sixth, Murray said he was more concerned about moving Albert Belle to third than he was about getting hit No. 3,000.

“It was a fastball down. I know I had missed enough changeups,” he said.

After his historic hit, Murray, 39, shook hands with Cleveland first base coach Dave Nelson and Twin first baseman Scott Stahoviak. They were then joined by the rest of the Indians, led by Dave Winfield, who later took pictures from the dugout with a camera.

“I just said, ‘Congratulations, way to go, man,’ ” Winfield said. “What else can you say at a time like that?”

Winfield was the last player to reach 3,000 hits, doing it on Sept. 16, 1993--also at the Metrodome--while with Minnesota. Murray and Winfield are the first teammates with 3,000 hits since Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Eddie Collins played for the 1928 Philadelphia Athletics.

“I told myself not to let the 3,000th-hit bid be my mind set,” Trombley said. “I should pitch him the same way whether it be his first hit, 100th or 3,000th.

“He’s always been a class act and if he had to get if off someone, it may as well be me. There’s several thousand other guys that he’s had hits off of.”

While the crowd stood and cheered, a series of Murray’s career highlights played on the Metrodome scoreboard. Murray, who rarely shows any emotion on the field, smiled as he raised both hands over his head twice to acknowledge the ovation.

“I wanted them to hurry up and get off the field,” Murray said. “Then I saw the video board and I said, ‘Geez, how long is this going to be?’ I just wanted to keep playing.”

All eligible players with 3,000 hits are in the Hall of Fame. Rose has been banned from consideration, while Winfield, George Brett and Robin Yount have not been retired for the mandatory five years.

“He acts like it’s nothing special, but we’re all going, ‘Wow,’ ” Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar said. “He has more hits than I have at-bats.”

Murray has 2,045 hits left-handed and 955 right-handed during his career with Baltimore, the Dodgers, the New York Mets and Cleveland.

Murray also has 469 home runs, placing him 18th on the career list. The first baseman-designated hitter could someday join Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only players to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

Though he has never won a batting title nor led the majors in either home runs or RBIs in a full season, Murray has been extremely consistent since breaking into the big leagues in 1977. He has had more than 75 RBIs in every season he has played, plus at least 144 hits in each season that was not interrupted by a labor dispute.

Murray began his career as a first baseman for the Orioles and was voted the AL rookie of the year in 1977. He recorded his first hit in the majors on April 7, 1977, off Bert Blyleven of Texas, and his first homer on April 18, 1977, against Pat Dobson of Cleveland.

Murray, who was born in Los Angeles and played at Locke High, played 12 years for the Orioles and helped them win the 1983 World Series.

Murray’s wife, Janice, rejoiced with their 10-month-old daughter, Jordan Alexandra, by her side.

“I’m proud and really excited for him,” Janice said. “And I’m glad it’s over, so we can relax and enjoy.”

Cleveland General Manager John Hart flew in from North Carolina after watching the Indians’ Class-A farm club Thursday night. It was his second night of three hours’ sleep, but Hart, a former Oriole minor league manager and third base coach, didn’t care.

“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Hart said. “This is what the game should be. It’s about relationships and long-term friendships and admiration. For me, this game is all about the players. What Eddie has done, it’s special.”

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Model of Consistency

Eddie Murray has changed teams through the years, but his statistics have been similar at each stop: BALTIMORE ORIOLES (1977-1988)

AB H R HR RBI Avg. 6,845 2,201 1,048 333 1,190 .295

DODGERS (1989-1991)

AB H R HR RBI Avg. 1,728 481 231 65 279 .278

NEW YORK METS (1992-1993)

AB H R HR RBI Avg. 1,161 318 141 43 193 .274

CLEVELAND INDIANS (1994-1995)

AB H R HR RBI Avg. 658 180 92 28 119 .274

TOTALS

AB H R HR RBI Avg. 10,392 3,000 1,5112 469 1,781 .289

Seasonal Adjustments

A look at the career numbers of the 3,000-hit club broken down over a 162-game season:

Player R H HR RBI SB Avg Slg Pete Rose 98 194 7 60 9 .303 .409 Ty Cobb 120 224 6 103 48 .366 .512 Henry Aaron 107 185 37 113 12 .305 .555 Stan Musial 104 194 25 104 4 .331 .559 Tris Speaker 109 204 7 89 25 .345 .500 Carl Yastrzemski 89 167 22 90 6 .285 .462 Honus Wagner 101 198 6 100 42 .327 .466 Eddie Collins 104 190 3 74 43 .333 .428 Willie Mays 112 178 36 103 18 .302 .557 Nap Lajoie 98 212 5 104 25 .338 .466 George Brett 95 189 19 95 12 .305 .487 Paul Waner 103 200 7 83 7 .333 .473 Robin Yount 93 178 14 80 15 .285 .430 Dave Winfield 92 171 26 101 12 .284 .476 Cap Anson 122 213 7 134 18 .329 .446 Rod Carew 93 200 6 67 23 .328 .429 Lou Brock 100 187 9 56 58 .293 .410 Al Kaline 93 172 23 90 8 .297 .480 Roberto Clemente 94 200 16 87 6 .317 .475 Eddie Murray 88 175 27 104 6 .288 .480