Unless you have been hiding in a cave (and even then you probably know) this is Derek Jeter’s final weekend in the Major Leagues. A thousand articles have been written extolling the virtues of Jeter, who by every account (even in Boston) should be a lock to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, which incidentally would be in 2020. So what is it that we could possibly write that hasn’t been written before?
The answer is nothing, so let’s recap a few things that again, you probably already know.
We have read that Cooperstown may expect a record attendance of over 100,000 people, eclipsing the mark set in 2006 when Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken which drew 80,000. With the proximity of Yankees fans in the state of New York, would it really shock anyone?
We have watched Jeter in commercials for years, compete drug free in an era where Performance Enhancing Drugs ran rampant in the sport, and lead the New York Yankees to five World Series Championships. He is as statistically sound as they come; sixth all time in Hits, a career Slash Line of .309/.377/.440, 260 Home Runs, 1,310 RBIs, 358 Stolen Bases, 1,923 Runs Scored and a bWAR of 71.7.
You also know that the man called “Mr. November” or “Mr. Clutch” is rightfully named. What has impressed us the most is that Jeter’s Post Season slash line of .308/.374/.465 over 158 Games is almost identical to his regular season numbers. Think about that Jeter has had a better post season than most players have seasons!
There has never been a player who was a unanimous selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and though some have speculated that Jeter could be the first, it won’t happen. There have been too many writers who have been open about submitting empty ballots out of protest over the PED era. Even before the steroids era, surefire Hall of Famers with even higher credentials than Jeter did not “Bat 1.000” with the voters.
Saying all that, it is not a time to nitpick about the procedures of those who decide Cooperstown (we have plenty of articles about that). This is the tie to celebrate number 2, Yankee fan or not.
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