Ripken rips his 400th homer

BALTIMORE -- It took a little longer than expected, but Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken hit his 400th career home run.

Ripken, activated off the disabled list on Wednesday, lined a 1-1 pitch from Tampa Bay starter Rolando Arrojo over the left-field wall with two outs in the third inning of tonight's 11-6 victory for his 16th home run of the season and first since July 25.

The 17-time All-Star became the 29th player in major league history with 400 home runs, moving one ahead of Al Kaline.

Cal makes history with No. 400. (AllSporat)

"If you would have asked me 18 or 20 years ago if I would hit 400 home runs in my career, I would have said I hope so, but I don't know," Ripken said. "This is a special moment and you try to enjoy the moment. The home run thing ... I try to put it out of my mind when I go to the plate the best I could. I thought at first the ball would go foul but it stayed straight."

The homer also was the 2,969th hit of his career, leaving him 31 shy of becoming the 24th player with 3,000. Ripken would become just the seventh player with 400 homers and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Stan Musial, Dave Winfield and Carl Yastrzemski.

Ripken is the second player to hit his 400th homer this season, joining Jose Canseco of Tampa Bay.

"I am happy and proud that it happened at home," Ripken added. "But you try to contain yourself in these moments and not get caught up in it. There is a certain honor in playing this game. I learned that from my father. My dad is in my thoughts every time I come to the ballpark. I respect the code I learned from him. You conduct yourself in a certain way."

The 39-year-old Ripken entered this season 122 hits shy of 3,000 and appeared on course to be one of three players to reach the milestone this season following Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs, but a nerve irritation in his back landed him on the DL for the first time in his career on April 20.

Ripken, who went 1-for-4 before he was replaced in the top of the seventh, is hitting .330 with 50 RBI in 71 games. After a slow start, he has been one of the Orioles' most effective hitters. Before the injury, Ripken had hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games.

Earlier this summer, the Orioles picked up Ripken's $6.3 million contract option for 2000.

It has been a difficult year off the field for Ripken. His father, former Orioles coach and manager Cal Ripken Sr., died of lung cancer March 25.

On September 20, 1998, the younger Ripken opted to end his streak when he sat out against the New York Yankees. This year, he missed a game due to injury for the first time since he was beaned by Seattle's Mike Moore in May 1982.

Ripken captured the nation's attention in 1995 as he chased Lou Gehrig's seemingly unbreakable record of 2,130 consecutive games, finally passing the Yankees' legend on September 6.