Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th member of the 3,000 hit club when he doubled during the fifth inning of Friday's 6-3 victory against Seattle. Palmeiro lined a 2-2 pitch off Joel Pineiro into the left-field corner to reach the milestone. The double scored Melvin Mora and gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead. He was mobbed by his teammates on the field as the game was paused for a few moments. "It was emotional. I wasn't expecting that," Palmeiro said. "I though maybe for a second or two the game would stop. But they came out there. I'm very honored, also the Mariner fans, the way they applauded, I appreciated that." Palmeiro's sons were at the ballpark as part of the milestone. Ten-year-old Preston and 15-year-old Patrick ran onto the field to hug their father. "That's the best," said Palmeiro. "For them to be a part of that and to be out there with me, I'll never forget that, and I hope they don't either." He added his 3,001st hit with a seventh-inning single, passing Roberto Clemente for 25th place all-time, and finished 2-for-4. The 40-year-old Palmeiro is just the fourth player with 3,000 hits and 500 homers, joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray. His 566 career home runs are the ninth-most in major-league history. "I'm in a group with them, but that still doesn't mean that I belong with them," Palmeiro said. "Hank Aaron has 200 more home runs than I do and Willie Mays has about a hundred. In my opinion, those two guys belong in a class by themselves and I shouldn't be anywhere close to that." Palmeiro is the second player in an Orioles uniform to reach the 3,000th hit plateau, joining Cal Ripken, Jr., who got his 3,000th on April 15, 2000 at the Metrodome in Minnesota. Murray, who spent the majority of his career with Baltimore, recorded his 3,000th hit with the Cleveland Indians in 1995. The last player to record 3,000 hits was Rickey Henderson, who did the trick with a double off Colorado's John Thomson while a member of the San Diego Padres on October 7, 2001. Born in Havana, Cuba, Palmeiro was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round (22nd pick) in 1985. He entered the 2005 season with 2,922 hits. "I've never played this game for the fanfare, to get attention," Palmeiro said. "I play this game because I love this game. From the very first time I ever played it, when I was nine-years-old, that's all wanted to be. I never played it for the money." Palmeiro has 15 homers this year. He came into the 2005 season with at least 20 homers in each of the last 14 seasons, the second-longest current streak among active players behind Barry Bonds (15), and tied for the fifth-longest span of 20-homer campaigns ever. Incredibly, Palmeiro is the only member of the 500-home run club without a three-homer game.