The Kalamazoo Kid is headed to Cooperstown
Editor’s Note: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., to postpone the 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies—originally slated for this summer—until July 25, 2021. Sports Collectors Digest is honoring the 2020 Hall of Fame class with a series of articles about these baseball legends who sat down earlier this year and talked about their careers. Ted Simmons is featured in the June 19 issue and Larry Walker in the July 3 issue. NOTE: Robert Grayson's byline was inadvertently left off the Larry Walker feature. SCD regrets the omission. Now, here is Grayson’s look at Derek Jeter’s illustrious career:
What will you see when you look at Derek Jeter’s plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Like a great work of art, it will appear different to everyone who views it. Besides a sculpted likeness of Jeter, the plaque will contain a wonderfully written narrative about the New York Yankees legend. Those carefully crafted words will offer more information about Jeter than you ever thought could possibly fit in such a small space.
But so much more will come to mind when you’re transfixed by that bronze tablet. All those magnificent memories, the breathtaking plays, the dramatic hits, the game-winning heroics—all those timeless, priceless recollections will flood back to you. They won’t all be engraved on the plaque, but you’ll see them there anyway. It’s a lot to take in, just like Jeter’s career.
But before he turned into the face of the national pastime, Jeter, like so many of his fellow Hall of Famers, encountered some rough patches. There were plenty of “oh no” moments as the lanky, young baseball player from Kalamazoo, Mich., built his career step-by-step. Yet with the sheer determination that made him a superstar, Jeter overcame those obstacles to greatness, and rose to the top of his field.
Even to this day, Jeter takes nothing for granted. No matter how much certainty surrounds an event—for example, his getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year—Jeter still harbors doubts. He insisted that doesn’t stem from insecurity, saying, “I’m just big on trying not to jinx things.”
So for the past five years, the time a player has to wait between retiring and getting onto the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s (BBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, Jeter never spoke about getting into Cooperstown. “The only time I really ever talked about it during
