All-star shortstop Derek Jeter made the 3,000th hit of his career Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays and later smacked the game-winning single at the bottom of the eighth inning.

The historic 3,000th hit came in the form of a home run in the third inning, which set off deafening cheers in the stadium.

Jeter felt the love from every direction, with a tip of the cap from Rays first baseman Casey Kotchman as he rounded first. His former teammate, Johnny Damon, applauded in front of the Tampa dugout.

Friends and family enjoyed the view from their suite and finally, his teammates waited with open arms at home plate.

Jeter is now the 28th Major League Baseball player and first Yankee to reach 3,000 career hits.

The Yankees won the game 5-4 after Jeter made a total of five hits.

In yet another record for the shortstop, this is the third time in his career he's made five hits in a single game.

"If I would have tried to write it and gave it to someone, I wouldn't have bought it, to be honest with you," Jeter said after the game. "It's just one of those special days."

"Everybody ran out there to give him a big hug. And I told him I was proud of him," said Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. "I got a little bit emotional because I was so happy for him."

Fans were uproarious and sustained cheering could be heard even outside of the stadium.

Jeter's 2,999th hit was also accomplished today in the first inning.

Earlier in the day, fans anticipated the historic moment.

"My son here, his first baseball game that he went to, he caught a Derek Jeter foul ball and that's his favorite player, so it's a very big day if he happens to do it today," said a fan.

"He's my role model," said another.

Of all the fans at the Stadium who were thrilled to see Jeter hit number 3000 -- perhaps no one was more excited than Christian Lopez.

The 23-year-old from upstate Highland Mills gave the ball back to Jeter and got to meet the shortstop after the game.

Lopez said the ticket was a birthday present from his girlfriend, and that he never considered keeping the ball or making any money off of it.

"Mr. Jeter deserved it. I'm not gonna take it away from him," said Lopez. "Yeah, money's cool and all, but I'm only 23 years old. I have a lot of time to make that. It's his accomplishment, it's just a milestone. Like someone said, only 27 other people have done this. It's not an everyday thing and he deserves every second of it. It's all his."

The Yankees rewarded Lopez will four season tickets for the rest of the year, including the playoffs. He also got three bats, three balls and two jerseys signed by Jeter.

In a statement following Jeter's home run, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, in part, "Long before joining the 3,000 hit club, Derek Jeter became another one of New York’s icons because he represents what is best in the spirit of our city: an unbreakable belief that with hard work and determination, anything can be accomplished.... Congratulations Derek, you’ve made all of New York City proud."

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement, "We celebrate a remarkable achievement by one of the game's greatest ambassadors. On behalf of the entire New York Yankees family, we congratulate Derek on his historic accomplishment."

Legendary Yankees catcher Yogi Berra also weighed in, saying, "I want to give him a big hug. It's an absolute wonderful accomplishment."

Jeter is only the second player in baseball history to have achieved his 3,000th career hit with a home run. The first was former Yankees third baseman Wade Boggs, who called Jeter's hit today a "monumental achievement."

"There was a lot of pressure to do it here. I thought eventually I would get a few hits, but I felt a lot of pressure to do it here while we're at home," Jeter said. "After I hit the home run, I really tried not to think about 3,000 hits anymore and tried to focus about how we could win this game. If we didn't win, it definitely would have put a dampener on things."

The Yankees next play the Toronto Blue Jays on July 14.

Jeter now has a mini-vacation, as he has decided to not play in next week's All-Star game, and then he will go back to work, trying to help his team get back to the playoffs.