The inductees were announced on Tuesday for the 2020 National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. There are only two players being inducted this year. They are Colorado Rockies outfielder Larry Walker of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter of Pequannock Township, New Jersey. In the first of a two part series, we will look at five fascinating storylines about each inductee. We will take a look at Jeter today and Walker tomorrow.
5) Jeter received 396 of 397 votes–In an almost unanimous selection, there was only one voter who did not support Jeter’s induction into Cooperstown. In a complete mystery, nobody seems to know who it is yet. The only person inducted into Cooperstown that gone in unanimously is ironically, Jeter’s former New York Yankees teammate, Mariano Rivera.
4) Jeter is one of two famous athletes from Pequannock Township, New Jersey–There are actually two famous athletes from this township in New Jersey with a population of just over 15,000. The other is Olympic snowboarder Danny Kass, who won silver in men’s halfpipe at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin.
3) Jeter remains in baseball today–Jeter’s playing days are over, but he is still actively involved in Major League Baseball. He is currently the part owner and chief executive officer of the Miami Marlins. Yes, there is a lot of work for him to do.
2) Jeter is one of five players to have no.2 retired–Besides the Yankees, there are four other teams that have retired number two. They are the Los Angeles Dodgers (for manager Tommy Lasorda), the Chicago White Sox (for shortstop Luis Aparicio), the Detroit Tigers (for second baseman Charlie Gehringer), and the St. Louis Cardinals (for second baseman/manager Red Schoendienst).
1) Jeter’s postseason performances–The reason why Jeter got into Cooperstown so easily is because of his playoff success. He has the Major League Baseball record for most hits (200), runs (111) and total bases (302) in the postseason. It also helps he has won five World Series in pinstripes.
