"Robinson Cano may not be on the short list with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio just yet, but the second baseman is off to a pretty good start.

Tuesday night marked the sixth anniversary of Cano's major league debut, as he returned to the lineup after missing his first game of the season Monday with a bone bruise on his left hand.

"Wow; it feels like it was yesterday," Cano said. "Time goes fast."

Cano has established himself as one of the premier players in the league, and based on his six-year start, has a chance to wind up as one of the elite players in the Yankees' illustrious history.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cano's 1,107 hits through the first six years rank second only to DiMaggio's 1,183 in Yankees history, ahead of Don Mattingly (1,078) and Derek Jeter (1,070).

"That's good, being compared to a guy like (DiMaggio)," Cano said. "Those are the things that make me work even harder."

Cano arrived at Tropicana Field on May 3, 2005, as part of a team-wide shakeup following the Yankees' 11-15 start."