Baseball Hall of Fame: Derek Jeter and Larry Walker Join 2020 Class

“Every accolade that has been bestowed on Derek throughout his career has been earned and deserved,” Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner, said in a statement released by the team. “He was a captain and champion in every sense of the word, a man who embodied our traditions and expectations with an unmistakable grace and dignified resolve.”

Jeter enters the Hall of Fame with an impressive résumé. After growing up in Michigan dreaming of playing shortstop in pinstripes, Jeter was picked sixth over all in the 1992 draft by the Yankees and was persuaded to sign with them instead of playing baseball at the University of Michigan.

“The only place Derek Jeter’s going is to Cooperstown,” Dick Groch, a former Yankees scout who signed Jeter, told team officials at the time. Jeter was in the major leagues by 1995 and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award the following season.

With his trademark right-handed swing that often poked balls to right field rather than pulling them to left, Jeter posted a .310 career batting average and amassed 3,465 career hits, the sixth-most in baseball history. He tied a major-league record with 17 straight seasons of at least 150 hits and is tied for second with 13 seasons scoring at least 100 runs. He played in 20 seasons — all with the Yankees, a team record — at one of the most demanding positions on the diamond. He was named an All-Star 14 times.

Jeter was part of the so-called Core Four of homegrown Yankees players — along with pitcher Andy Pettitte, catcher Jorge Posada and Rivera — who helped create a dynasty that won four World Series titles (1996 and 1998-2000) in five seasons, then claimed another in 2009. Jeter was the last of the four to retire, his final season coming in 2014. He ended his career as the longest-tenured Yankees captain, having held the title for 12 seasons.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/sports/baseball/hall-of-fame-vote-derek-jeter.html?emc=rss&partner=rss