After a long and storied career, former New York Yankees captain and legend Derek Jeter will be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s legacy now lives on forever with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The Captain heads to Cooperstown. #HOF2020 pic.twitter.com/pZ08CZiM8Y
— MLB (@MLB) January 21, 2020
Jeter, 45, is joined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 by Larry Walker, who made the Hall in his final year on the ballot. Former catcher Ted Simmons and longtime MLBPA executive Marvin Miller were also elected via the Veterans Committee.
Jeter himself received 99.7% of the vote, just one year after longtime teammate Mariano Rivera was unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame. The Captain received 396 of 397 possible votes.
As a player, Derek Jeter defined Yankees baseball. His boyish smile broke more than a few fans’ hearts and his inside-out swing was marvelous to witness in person.
And in a 20-year on-field career, Jeter did it all. He retired with a .310 lifetime batting average and ranks sixth in MLB history with 3,465 career hits. Jeter was also named to 14 All-Star teams and won five Gold Gloves. In 1996, he was named American League Rookie of the Year after being instrumental in leading the Yankees to their first World Series since 1981.
All in all, Jeter played in seven World Series and won five. In 2000, he hit .409 and was named World Series MVP as the Yankees beat the New York Mets in the Subway Series. In May 2017, the Yankees retired his No. 2, placing it in Monument Park with the rest of the greats.
Jeter now serves as CEO and minority owner of the Miami Marlins, but it doesn’t matter. No matter how much good he does for the Fish, fans will always remember him as a true-blue Yankee who bleeds pinstripes.
The Hall of Fame suits him just as well as he suited baseball.
