New York Yankees legendary shortstop Derek Jeter was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, narrowly missing a unanimous selection.
New York Yankees legendary shortstop Derek Jeter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Jeter’s illustrious career adds another spectacular accomplishment.
It was a near guarantee that Jeter was going to make it into the Hall of Fame on his first try. He’s one of the greatest players to ever have played the game. The only question remained on how many votes he would receive. The biggest question was whether he would join his former teammate in Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous selections.
However, that wouldn’t come to fruition. Jeter garnered all but one vote to be unanimous.
Jeter’s career started fast and wound up being legendary. The No. 6 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft, Jeter made his debut in 1995. He wound up winning the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year award by unanimous vote. His 20-year career was a combination of consistency and reliability. Jeter was the epitome of a captain both on and off the field.
Jeter’s career numbers line up with some of the greats across MLB history. His final slash line was .310/.377/.440 with 260 home runs and five Silver Slugger awards. While his defense is a major topic of debate, Jeter earned five Gold Glove awards. He was a smooth defender with great hands and an accurate arm.
The 14-time All-Star has the sixth-most home runs among shortstops and the second-most runs scored in a career at the position. Jeter also leads the position in career hits (3,115) and is one of 32 players in MLB history to accomplish the feat. His 3,465 career hits are the sixth-most all-time.
Jeter is also the only Hall of Famer to compile at least 3,000 hits, 250 home runs, 350 stolen bases and 1,300 RBIs in a career.
Derek Jeter HOF #FunFact …
Here’s the list of players in major-league history to compile at least 3,000 hits, 250 homers, 350 stolen bases and 1,300 RBIs in a career:
Derek Sanderson Jeter
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) January 21, 2020
Jeter was the centerpiece of the Yankees building the dynasty in the late 1990s. He finished his career with five World Series wins and only one time during his career did the Yankees fail to make the playoffs. Speaking of playoffs, Jeter’s numbers in the postseason are nearly unmatched.
Jeter has the most career hits (200), runs (111), total bases (302) and the third-most home runs (20) in the postseason.
The captain had an illustrious career. One that made him a surefire Hall of Famer. He led the way easily on his first ballot and adds another incredible achievement to an already wonderful career.