Jack Brett did not want to tell his famous son he was dying.
"He found out he had brain cancer and lung cancer two months ago and he didn't tell me until three weeks ago," George Brett said Sunday after reaching a baseball milestone to make any father beam with pride. "The way I was playing ball and the way the team was playing, he said I have enough problems."George and the Kansas City Royals were indeed wallowing in the depths. They lost their first 16 games. George was making precious little progress in his drive toward the 3,000-hit plateau. But finally, George was told, and he immediately flew to California to be with his father.
Friday night, George's first game after the funeral, he was hitless. But Saturday night he had two hits as the Royals came from behind to beat first-place Texas.
Then Sunday Brett had three hits, catching and passing none other than Babe Ruth on the all-time list as the Royals rallied for a 7-6 victory that knocked the Rangers out of first in the AL West.
Brett doubled and scored in the second inning, singled home a run in the third and then singled again in the seventh. The first hit was No. 2,873, tying Ruth for 28th place.
"To pass someone like Babe Ruth is a big thrill," said Brett. "I passed some people whose names you might have heard now and then, but definitely not in Babe Ruth's class. To have two more hits than Babe Ruth, it really makes you feel pretty good. Unfortunatley, they're not all home runs like his."