The first Baseball Hall of Fame presentation in over two years was well worth the wait for New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter, who was inducted in Cooperstown, New York, on Wednesday.
Jeter, who is enshrined with Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and former players union executive Marvin Miller, drew loud cheers from the Yankees-supporting crowds that descended on the quaint village in central New York .
Jeter, 47, played 20 seasons with the Yankees after he was enlisted in the first round in 1992 at Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His Yankees teams have won five World Series championships and seven American League titles.
A career of ,310 hits in 2,747 games and 11,195 hits, Jeter is a 14-time American League All-Star and leads the AL in hits with the most recent 216 in 2012 at the age of five. 38.
“This is the highest possible level of your playing career,” says Jeter. “There are no other awards or trophies that you can get. From a career football point of view… man, I guess that’s the end of the chapter. “
Jeter gave signs of what lies ahead when he was named Rookie of the Year in 1996. He went on to play the most games in the history of the Yankees franchise and also has a record club record is 3,465 times, a total of sixth in major league history.
Jeter, also a five-time Golden Glove winner, was included in 99.7% of the votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America in his first year of eligibility.
“Thank you baseball writers, all but one of you voted for me,” Jeter said.
Walker, 54, is a native of Canada who has racked up .313 in a 17-year career with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals from 1989 to 2005. He was a five-time All-Star Champion and he won the 1997 NL MVP Award.
“Honestly, I feel like a normal guy,” Walker said. “And I’m good with averages. But to stand on this stage right now and tell you I feel average would be a total lie. I haven’t touched the ground all day.”
Simmons, 72, was only on the Hall of Fame ballot for a year after he was removed for receiving only 3.7% of the vote. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the committee at the 2019 winter meetings. The 2020 inductance ceremony was not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simmons, a part-time catcher and midfielder, scored .285 goals in 21 seasons with 248 home runs and 1,389 RBIs for St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves from 1968 to 1988.
Miller, who died in 2012 at the age of 95, helped the Major League Baseball Players Association grow into one of the strongest associations in the United States. He was MLBPA executive from 1966 to 1982 after resolving previous labor disputes for United Auto workers and United Steelworkers.
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