Manny Ramirez tips his hat to the fans in Baltimore after hitting career homer No. 500.

AP Photo/ Steve Ruark

BALTIMORE — He did it!

With one swing of the bat in the seventh inning last night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez crushed an opposite-field solo shot to record his 500th career home run. He deposited the first offering from Baltimore reliever Chad Bradford some 410 feet from home plate. The ball landed in the bleacher seats in right-center field.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone,” said Ramirez. “I was happy to move on. It was great because I’ve been trying so hard for the last three weeks just to get it done. It finally came and I’m just happy. I’m proud of myself, of everything I have accomplished. Now I can go have some fun.”

“Not everyone has a chance to get to 500,” he said. “I’m just proud to do it.”

His wife Juliana was sitting in the family section during the game and was waiting outside the clubhouse later.

“I cried,” she said. “I’m just so happy.”

When Manny crossed the plate to make No. 500 official, teammate Mike Lowell was the first to greet him with a hug. Kevin Youkilis was next and then Ramirez was mobbed by David Ortiz and Julio Lugo.

“The players’ reaction for Manny was awesome,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “You could tell the affection everybody had for him. It was nice to see. It was a good swing — not that it matters — but I got more of a kick out of watching his teammates and the way they reacted.”

Manny’s homer came in his 7,263rd at-bat.

“It was great because you know how hard he works,” said Dustin Pedroia. “You can tell the last three or four weeks that he wanted to get it over with. To see it happen is special. There’s not a nicer guy, there’s not a guy who cares about everybody as much as Manny does. It’s awesome. It was awesome to watch.”

To make the night even better, the the Red Sox won the game, 6-3.

Ironically, Ramirez said early in the day that he was going to get No. 500 last night, joking that it would be “an inside-the-ballpark-home run.”

Ramirez, who turned 36 on Friday, has never legged out an inside-the-park-home run.

Interestingly enough, when the Red Sox arrived here for their four-game set against the Orioles, there was definitely a buzz in the clubhouse and around the ballpark that he would make history this weekend.

He did!

When the inning was over, the sound system began to play Fenway Park’s anthem “Sweet Caroline” as the Red Sox fans here went crazy. Ramirez emerged from the dugout and waived to the 48,281 in attendance as he made his way out to left field.

The video board read: “Something special for you Red Sox fans.” But just as quickly, Neil Diamond’s music stopped and the next message read: “Not.”

Despite that, it was a special moment for any baseball fan who witnessed it last night.

Until then, Ramirez had gone 0-for-3. In the first inning he crushed a shot to left field, but it was caught on the warning track by the Orioles’ Jay Payton. In the third inning, Ramirez grounded out to third base. In the sixth, he lined out to left.

In the seventh inning — Boom!

Like many of his other homers, Ramirez drove the ball to the opposite field. This time it gave Boston a 5-3 advantage.

He wasn’t alone in the home-run department last night.

Pedroia drilled a solo shot in the third inning and Ortiz followed with a deep drive to dead-center field. It was the fourth time this season the Red Sox have hit back-to-back homers. Ramirez then stepped in and everyone in the baseball world felt it would only be fitting if Ramirez hit his 500th.

He had to wait.

Ramirez was wearing a T-shirt in the clubhouse on Friday that read: “I don’t want to be in the game … I want to be the game.”

He was last night, at approximately 9:29.

Not to be lost in the celebration was the fact that Ortiz suffered a strained left wrist during his at-bat in the ninth inning and had to be replaced by Sean Casey. Ortiz had an x-ray taken, which proved negative and he is listed as day-to-day.

jmcdonal@projo.com