Derek Jeter was already joining an exclusive club Tuesday when he was a first-ballot selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The way he was voted in? Almost perfect.
Jeter, the former star shortstop for the New York Yankees and the current CEO of the Miami Marlins, received 99.7% of the votes _ 396 of 397. He was one vote away from being just the second player _ and first non-pitcher _ unanimously voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He would have joined former teammate Mariano Rivera as the only other player to have that distinction.
Only Rivera, Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr (99.32 percent) have ever received more than 99% approval when they were voted into the Hall of Fame.
Jeter will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 at a ceremony at the hall in Cooperstown, New York. Larry Walker also made the cut, earning votes on 76.6% of ballots, just above the 75% minimum required.
"For every player that plays the game, (being selected to the Hall of Fame) is the ultimate honor," Jeter said in November.
And while the unanimous selection was not meant to be for Jeter, Rivera would have had no qualms if his time as the only player with 100% support lasted just one year.
"Jealousy is not part of my life. As a team, we accomplished a lot of things. I always say that we had to pull for each other. As my brother, I will never be jealous of my brother," Rivera said last week, according to Newsday. "What he did and what he has done, not only for baseball specifically but out of baseball, you know, in field and off the field. Derek Jeter has obviously been one of those players who always did the right thing."
Jeter, 45, played all 20 of his MLB seasons with the Yankees.
And from his debut on May 29, 1995, to his final at-bat on Sept. 28, 2014, he played his way into the sport's elite.
The raw numbers alone are solid: a career .310 batting average, 3,465 hits, 260 home runs and 1,311 RBI. He had at least a .300 batting average and 10 home runs in 12 seasons.
The accolades piled in as a result.
A 14-time All-Star.
A five-time World Series champion, with World Series MVP honors in 2000 for good measure.
A five-time Gold Glove Award winner.
A two-time Silver Slugger.
His 72.4 wins above replacement are the third most in MLB history for a player who spent at least 75% of his career as a shortstop. That number trails just Cal Ripken Jr. (95.9) and Ozzie Smith (76.9).
"He's a tough one," Jorge Posada, Jeter's teammate with the Yankees from 1995-2011 and now a special adviser to Jeter with the Marlins, said last season. "He demands a lot. ... The way he played the game tells you a lot _ no excuses, and winning is No. 1."
The resume was more than qualifying.
But Jeter attempted to keep Hall of Fame talk out of his head as the ballots trickled in.
"I try not to think about it; I try not to talk about it," Jeter said in November. "I don't want to jinx any opportunities I may have. I've played my last games and there's really not much else I can do. I was fortunate to play a very long career and I played on successful teams. My career's over with now, and I'm focused with what I'm doing in Miami."
There's still a lot of work to do with his day job.
The Marlins in the first two seasons under the Bruce Sherman and Jeter ownership group have prioritized revamping the organization's minor-league system with the intent of long-term success. The short-term results took a hit at the Major League level as a result. The Marlins have gone a combined 120-203 in 2018 and 2019.
The Marlins' begin spring training on Feb. 12 when pitchers and catchers report to the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex in Jupiter. The first full-squad workout is Feb. 17.
