Derek Jeter, former Yankees superstar, captain, and current Miami Marlins CEO, is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time ever.
Derek Jeter highlights this year's Hall of Fame ballot.
What percentage of votes will he receive? pic.twitter.com/85Nc2D1VGN
— MLB (@MLB) November 18, 2019
On the 32 player ballot, half of them are on their first ballot. Along with Jeter, the first-timers are Bobby Abreu, Josh Beckett, Heath Bell, Eric Chavez, Adam Dunn, Chone Figgins, Rafael Furcal, Jason Giambi, Raúl Ibañez, Paul Konerko, Cliff Lee, Carlos Peña, J.J. Putz, Brian Roberts, Alfonso Soriano, and Jose Valverde.
Mr. November’s resume speaks for itself.
- American League Rookie of the Year in 1996
- A fourteen-time All-Star
- A five time Gold Glover
- A five time Silver Slugger
- A five time World Series winner
- The World Series Most Valuable Player in 2000
- The All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 2000
With a resume like that, how is Jeter not going to get into the Hall of Fame?
Not only has he achieved a ton, but Jeter’s career stats are Hall of Fame worthy. Over Jeter’s career, he accumulated 3,465 hits, hit 260 home runs, had a .310 batting average, 1,923 runs, 1,311 runs batted in, a .377 on base percentage, a .440 slugging percentage, and a .817 on base plus slugging percentage. Very, very solid stats.
In addition to his amazing track record, Jeter put in a great career, WAR-wise.
Most Offensive WAR (oWAR) posted during a career by a shortstop:
1) DEREK JETER (96.3)
2) Cal Ripken Jr. (78.1)
3) Arky Vaughan (71.0)
4) Luke Appling (70.6)
5) Barry Larkin (68.2)
6) Joe Cronin (63.8)
7) Alan Trammell (63.0)
8) Bill Dahlen (62.7)
9) Bobby Wallace (56.7)— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) November 19, 2019
In this tweet by Max Wildstein, Jeter had the highest career offensive WAR by a shortstop, and there are some amazing names on that list.
To add to Jeter’s offensive prowess, Jon Heyman lists a few reasons here why Jeter should become a Hall of Famer.
Derek Jeter is 6th alltime in hits, 1st alltime in hits by a SS, 1st by anyone in games played last 50 yrs, 1st in postseason hits (56% more than 2nd place Bernie Williams) and 11th alltime in runs; 8 times he had 200 hits, 13 times he scored 100 runs, 14 times he was an All Star https://t.co/9Z4m7IkDot
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 21, 2019
Although there are some arguments about Jeter being overrated, and how he was not that great at defense, his stats and achievements should get him into the Hall of Fame regardless.
There are only FIVE players in the history of Major League Baseball with more hits than Derek Jeter. That alone could be enough to get him into the Hall of fame. It probably would not be enough, but that is insanely impressive, given how long the MLB has been around.
Derek Jeter should be a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, and he should be headlining the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2020.
Featured Image: Jim McIsaac — Getty Images
