The Baltimore Orioles star, already renowned for playing a record 2,632 straight games, reached this milestone with his third single in a 6-4 victory over Minnesota.

	Ripken waves to the Metrodome crowd after singling in the seventh inning for his 3,000th hit.

Ripken became the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits, doing it a year after both Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs joined the club.

"I was relieved, I felt a weight was lifted from my shoulders," Ripken said. "I thought about how lucky you are and how you started."

When the game ended, Ripken signed autographs for about 15 minutes for some of the fans who had given him a two-minute standing ovation. The gesture was reminiscent of the victory lap he took at Camden Yards after breaking Lou Gehrig's "Iron Man" streak.

"I tried to give back as much as I can and I thought it was right and appropriate to celebrate with the fans," he said.

Ripken lined a clean single to center field off Twins reliever Hector Carrasco for No. 3,000. He was greeted at first base by coach and longtime teammate Eddie Murray, who also got his 3,000th hit in the Metrodome while playing for Cleveland in 1995.

"To meet Eddie at first base, that was a special moment," Ripken said. "He said, 'Way to go, welcome to the club.' "

		Sun., April 16 Cal's career has been a study in perseverance. I don't believe there's been a player that has had more of a desire to play the game than him, and even though he's not as gifted a player as most of the other players that have reached the 3,000-hit plateau, you still have to consider him to be one of the game's greats. Of the 24 players that have 3,000 or more hits, Cal has the lowest career batting average of them all (.278), but that shouldn't take away from this great accomplishment. Cal has been such a technician in the way he plays the game ... couple that with his burning desire to put on the uniform and you have to say this guy has been a great joy to watch play over the past 20 years.

Ripken took the ball, walked over to the first-base stands and flipped it underhand to his wife, Kelly, wearing a bright orange blazer and flanked by their two children.

Ripken returned to first base, took off his cap to acknowledge a standing ovation and then tapped his heart once as he mouthed the words "Thank you" to the crowd of 18,745.

As part of the celebration, the Orioles spilled out of the dugout to congratulate Ripken.

Ripken entered the season nine hits shy of the mark, but was just 6-for-34 (.176) going into Saturday, the 2,800th game of his career.

He grounded out in his first at-bat, then singled cleanly to right in the fourth off Sean Bergman. In the fifth, Ripken hit a high bouncer that third baseman Corey Koskie fielded, but had no play on for an infield single.

Right before Ripken came to bat in the seventh, Twins manager Tom Kelly was booed when he went to the mound to make a pitching change. Carrasco relieved Travis Miller, and his first pitch went for a passed ball that scored Albert Belle and put the Orioles ahead 5-4.

Ripken singled right up the middle on the next pitch. In his last at-bat, he flied out.

Ripken conquered a bad back and the butterflies that had stoked a season-long slump.

"You just have to deal with it, plow through and get those hits," he said recently. "But I can see why someone would say the last few are the hardest ones to get."

Ripken became the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. He was the AL MVP in 1983 and 1991 and the Rookie of the Year in 1982.

Of the 24 players to get 3,000 hits, 10 have done it on the road. Ripken was born and raised in the Baltimore area, and Orioles fans were hoping to see him reach the mark at Camden Yards.

The Orioles play the Twins again Sunday before returning home to face Tampa Bay on Monday night.

The 17-time All-Star has always been fond of the Metrodome, where his .321 average is 43 points higher than his career mark.

"I've hit a lot of ground balls, and it's turf," the third baseman said. "This is a good hitting place. I see the ball pretty well. And then you get rewarded for some groundballs that go through the middle or find holes."

Ripken played his 2,000th consecutive game at the Dome, on Aug. 1, 1994, on his way to breaking Gehrig's record a year later, a streak he said was easier to pursue than 3,000 hits.

"It's a little bit more nerve-racking, I guess," Ripken said of his quest for 3,000. "At least the games just came and added up each time. Getting a hit ... you have to do something. You can't just show up."

On Friday, Ripken admitted the pressure of the pursuit was getting to him.

"I feel like your insides are running just a little high. That's the best way to describe it is that your excitement level gets up inside," he said before going 1-for-4 to pull within three of the magic number.

He said the secret to hitting -- to any athletic success, really -- was to suppress that adrenaline high, relax "and let your talent come through. But it's not easy."

During batting practice Saturday night, Ripken was huffing and puffing.

"God, I'm getting worn out," he said.

But when he finished, he hustled to the mound, collected baseballs and poured them into a wire basket, then went about his usual pregame drills.

Ripken is the third player to get his 3,000th hit at the 18-year-old Metrodome, the ballpark where it has happened more than anywhere else. Dave Winfield did it there on Sept. 16, 1993, and Murray did it on June 30, 1995.

It's also the fifth time the Twins have been involved with a 3,000th hit, tying the Cleveland Indians for the most. Rod Carew (Aug. 4, 1995) and Paul Molitor (Sept. 16, 1996) reached the mark on the road while with the Twins.

Ripken said he was eager to get the milestone out of the way so he could turn his attention toward a far more pressing goal: to stay healthy and duplicate the unprecedented offensive prowess he showed in 1999.

Ripken hit .340 with a .584 slugging percentage last year, both career highs, but he twice was placed on the disabled list -- for the first time in his career -- because of back pain and played in only 86 games.

He missed the last 13 games so he could have an operation on his ailing back, something Ripken now regrets.

"It's an added distraction, dealing with thinking about how many more hits you need to get to 3,000," he said.

Ripken rarely encountered any health problems while assembling his record-breaking string of playing in 2,632 games from 1982-98, breaking Gehrig's record in 1995.

He had never spent time on the disabled list before last season and now is experiencing the unusual sensation of bouncing back from surgery.

Plus, his slow start meant he couldn't get 3,000 out of his head.