It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at the Safeco stadium parking lot in Seattle, it was a cloudy day and if you listened closely, you could hear the wind howling. When I got my baseball gear off the team bus all I could think about was how disappointed the fans would be if I didn't get my 3,000 hit today. I am almost at 3,000 hits and the stadiums the past few games have been packed with fans all hoping that they came to the game I would reach the 3,000 hit mark.

Right as I reached the locker room, all of my teammates asked questions like "Is this the game Albert?"

All I could say was "If it is meant to be, it will happen." In the locker room I put on my uniform. The shirt felt soft and my hat fit perfectly. It almost felt like it was the millionth time I had put on my uniform, but this time it felt different because of how important it is that everything is on the right way. From there I walked to the dugout and got all my gear ready and made sure that my glove, bat, and batting gloves were all where they needed to be.

For the first time since I first walked on Busch Field it made me remember how I used to play on all dirt fields with rocks scattered around in the Dominican Republic, and how I would practice with old baseball gear that we bought at cheap prices. When I was younger I wished that I would be able to come to the states and play on the large fields with freshly trimmed grass, and an infield that has no rocks at all.

I picked up my glove and jogged to the outfield to stretch and throw before the game. I could hear the fans cheering in anticipation of my at bats in this game, knowing that this game was going to be very important. When I was stretching I thought about the game and how the only thing I can do is to play the best I can for the fans and my coaches. When the game started after warm ups and batting practice the crowd was waiting in anticipation to see if this would be the game I got the last few hits I needed to reach 3,000.

My first at bat walking to the plate everyone was cheering and hoping that I could get a hit and be the 32 second player to make it to the 3,000 hit club. That at bat I struck out and did not get a hit. Walking back to the dugout I was disappointed and tried to not get down because I would have another chance later in this game. The game continued and we got a lead of two and when I came up to the plate I knew that I could do it and get the hit. The first pitch was a ball and I did not swing at it. When he threw the second pitch I saw the cutter come out of his hand and started to swing. When I hit the ball the crack of the bat was loud enough to hear from anywhere in the stadium. I started running to first knowing that this could be it, this could be the hit that gets me to 3,000! When I saw the ball fall in front of the right fielder I knew that I could get to first and get my 3,000th hits. All I could think about was how I did it. I was the 32nd person to reach 3,000 hits in the MLB.

When I reached first the first base coach hugged me and said things like "You've done it you reached 3,000". After that all my teammates came off the bench to come congratulate me on the accomplishment. They kept saying things like "Good job Albert" or "You did it". The fans in the stands were holding signs that said "3,000" or "Way to Go" or "The Machine",all of the fans were cheering and screaming my name so loud that I thought my eardrums would burst. When my teammates came to hug me it helped me remember what I had gone through in my life to get to this moment and achieve what only 31 other players have achieved in the history of the sport. I grew up in a poor area in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the U.S at the age of sixteen and started a new life with my family. When the game ended reporters swarmed me with questions and asked me about how I felt when I got the 3,000th hit. I didn't want to answer that many questions, I just wanted to be with my team and celebrate. Walking back into the locker room all of my teammates asked me what it was like accomplishing something so big, they asked what would change about baseball for me. I said "Baseball won't change, baseball will stay the same because it is the game I love."