The Captain is the 89th inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Derek Jeter played his first full season as the Yankees shortstop in 1996, unanimously winning the Rookie of the Year award while batting .314 and leading the Yankees to the first of 12 consecutive playoff appearances.
Jeter was a model of consistency at the plate, batting over .300 a dozen times while never dropping below .270 in all but his final two seasons. He would surpass 200 hits eight times, leading the league in 1999 and again in 2012 (at the age of 38). He scored 100 or more runs thirteen times, never falling below 80 (again exept for his final 2 seasons).
His consistent level of excellence led Jeter to be constantly in the MVP award mix. While he never won it, he did finish in the top 10 in votes eight times.
As good as he was in the regular season, Jeter shined in the postseason. In fact, in his 20 years with the Yankees, Jeter would appear in the playoffs 16 times for a record 158 postseason games – essentially another full season. In total, he batted .308, ammassing 200 hits, 20 homeruns, 61 RBIs and 111 runs scored in postseason games. Just looking at the World Series, in 38 games played he batted .321 with 50 hits and 32 runs scored.
Jeter retired after the 2014 season. His career stats are impressive: 3,465 hits (6th all-time), .310 batting average, 1,923 runs scored (11th all-time ), 2,674 games at shortstop (2nd all-time), and of course, 5 World Series titles.
The heart of the most recent Yankees dynasty, of course Derek Jeter is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
