- Ted Williams.
- Babe Ruth.
- Willie Mays.
- Joe DiMaggio.
- Tom Seaver.
- Hank Aaron.
- Sandy Koufax.
What do these individuals all have in common?
All are among the most revered players in baseball history, and yet none earned a unanimous Hall of Fame selection. In fact, no player had received 100 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America until legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in 2019.
PHOTO CREDIT: Anthony J. Causi
Rivera’s longtime teammate and fellow “Core Four” member Derek Jeter had a chance to become the second unanimous selection in history when he appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2020.
When the voting tallies were revealed, Jeter’s name appeared on 396 of the 397 ballots cast.
Unsurprisingly, Yankee fans were irate that their beloved captain had missed being unanimous by a single vote. As deserving as Jeter was of first-ballot induction, his inability to garner 100 percent of the vote is nowhere close to a travesty.
Hall of Fame Credentials
If you’re a baseball fan, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Derek Jeter’s career accolades. A 14-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter ranks sixth on the all-time hits list.
His matinee idol looks and status as the leader of baseball’s last true dynasty made him a transcendent star. He hosted SNL and dated a litany of stunning beauties, making his life off the diamond nearly as intriguing as his on-field exploits.
But although he was easily one of the most famous athletes of the period, he was not the greatest player of his generation.
Jeter was a terrific offensive player who produced countless iconic moments, and yet many of his achievements were overstated because he donned the pinstripes during a period of Yankee dominance.
Overrated Defense
Take his five Gold Glove awards, for example. I was an adolescent during Jeter’s heyday, and vividly remember imitating his signature “jump throws” in the backyard. As cool as it looked when Jeter hopped in the air before flinging the ball to first base, the move was an unnecessary flourish. Jeter’s more defensively gifted contemporaries were capable of making such plays while remaining flat-footed.
Yes, Jeter was a sure-handed fielder who rarely made errors. Even so, his lack of range–specifically to his left–cost his team runs. Baseball writers were convinced that Jeter was a stellar defender, something that modern metrics have proven to be false.
Before the advent of advanced defensive metrics, fielding percentage was the primary means of evaluating fielding competence. Jeter was rewarded for his high fielding percentage, a stat which is now viewed as archaic.
Modern metrics like Defensive Runs Saved indicate that Jeter was well below average in the field, even in seasons when he took home Gold Glove awards. Although the “eye test” said he was a savvy shortstop with elite presence of mind, his glove skills still left much to be desired.
Measuring the Clutch Factor
Of course, the primary reason many feel Jeter should have been a unanimous selection has nothing to do with defense. As the face of the late-90s Yankees dynasty, Jeter was afforded ample opportunities to prove his mettle in the postseason. He finished his career as the all-time leader in postseason hits, and was at the center of iconic plays like “the Flip” and the “Mr. November” home run.
Although it’s nearly impossible to deride Jeter’s postseason accomplishments, it’s also important to put them in proper context.
There’s no denying that he often came through in big moments, but he was also given more chances to do so than any player in history. In fact, Jeter played just four games in which his team had already been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.
Searle’s Final Say
Ultimately, while Derek Jeter was one of the most well known athletes of his generation, the fact that one writer left him off the Hall of Fame ballot is not an egregious oversight. Unlike Mariano Rivera, Jeter was not the best player of all time at his position. And in the years that Alex Rodriguez played for the Yankees, Jeter wasn’t even the best shortstop on his own team.
If you want to know how much Jeter’s legend was inflated by his status as Yankee captain, look no further than his fellow 2020 Hall of Fame inductee. Larry Walker’s career bWAR (72.7) was higher than Jeter’s (72.4), and yet Walker didn’t earn induction until his final year on the ballot. That’s partly because Walker spent the majority of his career in Montreal and Colorado, while Jeter played all 20 of his seasons in New York.
This is not to say that Jeter was unworthy of first-ballot induction, or that he shouldn’t hold a special place in the hearts of Yankee fans. It is merely a recognition of the fact that playing for a historically dominant team in the country’s largest media market enhanced his overall reputation.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that one dissenting voter left Jeter off the ballot. Once he’s officially enshrined in Cooperstown, few will care that Jeter was denied a unanimous entry.
