Derek Jeter (Hall of Fame, 2020)


Date of Birth: 6/26/1974
Birthplace: Pequannock, New Jersey

Derek Jeter started playing in little league baseball at the age of five. His love of the game maybe came from his father who was a shortstop in college.

In high school, Jeter was an all around athlete, participating in cross country, basketball, and baseball. During his sophomore through senior years, he batted over .500 and he won several baseball awards in his senior year. Prior to being drafted by the New York Yankees, he was offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Michigan.

New York Yankees

Jeter was drafted out of high school by the Yankees on June 1, 1992. He played for three years in the Yankees minor league system before being called up in 1995 for 15 games.

In 1996, Jeter became part of what was later known as the "Core Four," four Yankees who went on to help lead the team to five World Series wins. The other members were Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.

Jeter had an outstanding first year in 1996, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. That year, he batted .314 with 183 hits, 25 doubles, 10 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases in 157 games. He played in 15 postseason games in 1996, and he had 22 hits in 61 at-bats.

Jeter followed his promising first year with very good seasons in 1997 and 1998, leading the AL in singles both of those years. He finished the 1997 season with 190 hits, 31 doubles, 23 stolen bases, 70 RBIs, and a .291 batting average in 159 games. His numbers were even better in 1998, when he batted .324 with 203 hits, 25 doubles, 19 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 84 RBIs in 149 games. He played in the postseason in 1997, and he had 7 hits in 21 at-bats in 5 games.

One of Jeter's best years was 1999 when he led the AL in hits with a career high of 219. That year, he also had career highs in home runs with 24, RBIs with 102, and batting average with .349. In the postseason, he had 18 hits in 48 at-bats in 12 games.

The 2000 season was another strong one for Jeter. He batted .339 with 201 hits, 31 doubles, 15 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 148 games. He continued his outstanding batting into the postseason, winning the World Series MVP award and the AL Babe Ruth award with 20 hits and a .317 batting average in 63 at-bats in 16 games. He also won the All-Star game MVP award in 2000.

Jeter continued to have impressive seasons in 2001 and 2002. He finished the 2001 season with 191 hits, 35 doubles, 21 home runs, 27 stolen bases, 74 RBIs, and a .311 batting average in 150 games. The following season, his batting average dropped to .297. He had 191 hits, 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 32 stolen bases, and 75 RBIs in 157 games. In the 2001 postseason, he had 14 hits in 62 at-bats in 17 games. The following postseason, he had 8 hits in 16 at-bats in 4 games.

In 2003, the Yankees made Jeter the team's captain. That year, he batted .324 with 156 hits, 25 doubles, and 52 RBIs in 119 games. In the postseason, he had 22 hits in 70 at-bats in 17 games.

Jeter won his first Gold Glove for his outstanding defensive skills at shortstop in 2004. Offensively, he had another strong season, batting .292 with 188 hits, a career high 44 doubles, 23 home runs, 23 stolen bases, and 78 RBIs in 154 games. Defensively, he made 392 assists, 96 double plays, 273 putouts, and 13 errors in 154 games. He again played in the postseason in 2004, and he had 12 hits in 49 at-bats in 11 games.

In 2005, Jeter batted .309 with 202 hits, 25 doubles, 19 home runs, and 70 RBIs in 159 games. He had another outstanding defensive year, winning his second Gold Glove. In 157 games at shortstop, he made 454 assists, 96 double plays, 262 putouts, and 15 errors. He played in 5 postseason games that year and he had 7 hits in 21 at-bats.

Jeter won his first of five Silver Slugger awards in 2006. He also won the AL Hank Aaron award and his third Gold Glove. That season he batted .343 with 214 hits, 39 doubles, a career high 34 stolen bases, and 97 RBIs in 154 games. As a shortstop, he made 381 assists, 81 double plays, 214 putouts, and 15 errors. He had 8 hits in 16 at-bats in 4 postseason games in 2006.

Jeter won his second Silver Slugger award in 2007. He batted .322 with 206 hits, 39 doubles and 73 RBIs in 156 games. He once again played in the postseason and he had 3 hits in 17 at-bats in 4 games. He won Silver Slugger award number three in 2008. In 150 games, he had 179 hits, 25 doubles, 69 RBIs, and a .300 batting average.

Jeter had another stellar season in 2009, and he was rewarded with his fourth Silver Slugger award, his fourth Gold Glove, and the AL Hank Aaron award. For his leadership on and off the field and his community service participation and charitable work, he received the esteemed Roberto Clemente award. He also helped the Yankees win the AL East division title that year by batting .334 with 212 hits, 27 doubles, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 66 RBIs in 153 games. The team and Jeter then went on to win the World Series. In the postseason, Jeter had 22 hits in 64 at-bats in 15 games.

In 2010, Jeter won the Lou Gehrig Memorial award for his character and integrity on and off the field. His offensive numbers were lower than usual for him (179 hits, 30 doubles, 67 RBIs, .270 batting average in 157 games) but his defense was worthy of a Gold Glove (365 assists, 94 double plays, 182 putouts, 6 errors in 151 games). In the postseason, he had 10 hits in 40 at-bats in 9 games.

Jeter had another good season in 2011, batting .297 with 162 hits, 24 doubles, and 61 RBIs in 131 games. In the postseason, he had 6 hits in 24 at-bats in 5 games. The following season, he won his fifth Silver Slugger award when he led the AL in hits with 216. He finished the 2012 season with 32 doubles, 58 RBIs, and a .316 batting average in 159 games. He had 9 hits in 27 at-bats in his final 6 postseason games.

Jeter missed most of the 2013 season with an ankle injury. On February 14, 2014, he announced that he would retire at the end of the 2014 season. He went out in style, getting a walk-off hit in his last game at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2014. He followed that three days later, with a hit in his last at-bat as a major league player. Jeter finished the 2014 season with 149 hits, 19 doubles, and a .256 batting average in 145 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL Rookie of the Year
  • All-Star game MVP
  • AL Babe Ruth award
  • AL Hank Aaron award (2 times)
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Silver Slugger award (5 times)
  • Gold Glove (5 times)
  • Led AL in hits (2 times)
  • Led AL in singles (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Jeter in 18 full seasons (1996-2012, 2014) in the major leagues include:

  • 17 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 219 in 1999
  • 9 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 44 in 2004
  • 3 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 24 in 1999
  • 8 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 34 in 2006
  • 12 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .349 in 1999

Career batting statistics for Jeter include:

  • 2,747 games played
  • 3,465 hits
  • 544 doubles
  • 260 home runs
  • 1,311 RBIs
  • 358 stolen bases
  • 1,840 strikeouts to 1,082 walks
  • .310 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Jeter at shortstop include:

  • 2,674 games played
  • 6,605 assists
  • 1,408 double plays
  • 3,820 putouts
  • 254 errors
  • .976 fielding percentage

Career postseason statistics for Jeter include:

  • 158 games played
  • 200 hits
  • 32 doubles
  • 20 home runs
  • 61 RBIs
  • 18 stolen bases
  • .308 batting average

Post Playing Career

Since retiring, Jeter has remained involved in professional baseball. In October, 2014, he started a new website, ThePlayersTribune, a site devoted to articles written by professional athletes.

Jeter became a part owner of the Miami Marlins in July, 2017. He served as the CEO for the team and he was in charge of the daily operations of the team. As part of that job, he traded away most of the team's top players, including Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, and Justin Bour.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Derek Jeter
ESPN - Derek Jeter