It may be one year late, but Derek Jeter is finally a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The legendary New York Yankees shortstop joined fellow Class of 2020 inductees Ted Simmons and Larry Walker in Cooperstown on Wednesday for enshrinement along with the late union leader Marvin Miller.
'I only had one goal in my career: win more than everyone else,' the five-time World Series champion said. 'And we did.'
Jeter, 47, thanked everyone from family, teammates, and coaches during his 15-minute speech. And, after getting 396 out of a potential 397 votes for the Hall, Jeter even thanked the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
'Thank you to the baseball writers, all but one of you, who voted for me,' Jeter said to a round of laughter.
Last year's ceremony was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nobody was selected from this year's writers' ballot and the Hall of Fame's Era committees postponed their scheduled elections until the upcoming offseason because of the pandemic.
Jeter's family was, of course, on hand, including parents Dorothy and Charles, sister Sharlee, and his wife Hannah, along with the couple's two daughters, Story and Bella.
But the guest list hardly ended there.
In addition to the other Hall of Famers, the ceremony was also attended by NBA legends Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan — the latter of whom played with Jeter in the Arizona Fall League during his brief sabbatical from basketball in 1994.
The bulk of the crowd could safely be described as Jeter fans, to say the least.
As former Major League Baseball Players Association Donald Fehr spoke for the late Miller, groans could be heard from the thousands of pinstriped spectators.
Fehr pleaded 'let me say a few more words' 20 minutes into his speech, but the crowd's response was a distinctive 'noooo.'
Much of Jeter's speech was aimed directly at those fans.
'You helped me get here today as much as anyone I've mentioned,' Jeter said. 'You can't be fooled.... You demanded that I earned it… I wanted to prove to you I belonged and you kept pushing me over and over again. It's been one of the greatest honors of my life.'
And when chants of 'Der-ek Je-Ter' rang out, the part owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins couldn't help but confess: 'I forgot how good that feels.'
Hall of Famer Derek Jeter smiles at Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Hall of Fame inductees, from left, Derek Jeter, Larry Walker and Ted Simmons hold their plaques for photos after the induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on Wednesday
Hannah Jeter is pictured with the couple's two daughters Story and Bella during Wednesday's ceremony in Cooperstown
NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has a laugh with Hannah Jeter, wife of inductee Derek Jeter, during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on Wednesday. Jordan is pictured alongside his wife, Yvette Prieto
(Left) Noel Stazko stands with her cutout of Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Derek Jeter prior to Wednesday's ceremony
Jeter's parents Dorothy and Charles are pictured in front of two of their son's friends: Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing
In addition to the 31 Baseball Hall of Famers, the ceremony was also attended by Basketball Hall of Famers Michael Jordan (left) and Patrick Ewing (right)
Hall of Famer Derek Jeter's first born daughter Bella Raine watches from her mother Hannah's lap during the ceremony
The ceremony was delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic and it didn't matter much to Walker, the second Canadian elected to the Hall of Fame. He gave up hockey when he was 16 to focus on baseball. He was selected in his 10th and final year on the writers' ballot after a stellar career with Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis that included 383 homers and three batting titles.
'It's taken a little longer to reach this day (but) for all your support I've received throughout the years from my home country, I share this honor with every Canadian,' said Walker, who retired in 2005. 'I hope that all you Canadian kids out there that have dreams of playing in the big leagues that see me here today gives you another reason to go after those dreams. To my adopted home, the United States, I thank you for allowing this Canadian kid to come into your country to live and play your great pastime. I think we're all pretty fortunate to have two amazing countries side by side.'
The 72-year-old Simmons, who starred in a 21-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee and Atlanta, punctuated his speech to thank four pioneers of free agency - Curt Flood, Catfish Hunter, Andy Messersmith, and Marvin Miller - 'who changed the lives of every player on this stage today by pushing the boundaries of player rights.'
'Marvin Miller made so much possible for every major league player from my era to the present and the future,' the former catcher said. 'I could not be more proud to enter this great hall with this great man. Even though my path has been on the longer side, I wouldn't change a thing. However we get here none of us arrives alone. I'm no exception.'
Miller, who transformed baseball on the labor front by building a strong players union and led the charge for free agency in the mid-1970s, was honored posthumously. Four years before he died at 95 in 2012, Miller respectfully asked to be removed from consideration for the Hall of Fame after being passed over several times.
'One thing a trade union leader learns to do is how to count votes in advance. Whenever I took one look at what I was faced with, it was obvious to me it was not gonna happen,' Miller, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966-83, wrote in 2008. 'If considered and elected, I will not appear for the induction if I'm alive. If they proceed to try to do this posthumously, my family is prepared to deal with that.'
The family didn't. Instead, Don Fehr, who was hired by Miller to be the union's general counsel in 1977 and succeeded him eight years later, had the honor.
'Of all the players I had the privilege to represent, I want to thank you Marvin,' said Fehr, now the head of the National Hockey League Players Association. 'Baseball was not the same after your tenure as it was before. It was and is much better for everyone. You brought out the best of us and you did us proud.'
The virus forced the Hall of Fame to cancel last year's ceremony and this year's was moved from its customary slot on a Sunday in late July to a midweek date.
Cooperstown, New York is 195 miles from the Bronx, but it had a distinct 'Yankee Stadium' feel to it during the HOF ceremony
Tammy Roorda, left, of Herkimer, N.Y., and Ryan Derby of Albany wait for the start of the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on Wednesday
The crowd was unmistakably in Jeter's corner throughout Wednesday's ceremony. As former Major League Baseball Players Association Donald Fehr spoke for the late Miller, groans could be heard from the thousands of pinstriped spectators. Fehr pleaded 'let me say a few more words' 20 minutes into his speech, but the crowd's response was a distinctive 'noooo'
Adam Roorda reads the New York Post about Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Derek Jeter
Fans arrive for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on Wednesday in Cooperstown, New York
Jeter visited Cooperstown when he was a kid nearly four decades ago and says he doesn't remember much about the trip. He returned this week and likely won't ever forget even one moment.
'As strange as this sounds or may sound, I'm trying not to think about it,' the 47-year-old Jeter, now an owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins, said last week. 'I just want to go there and experience it. I'm trying to keep it out of my mind because I do want to go in there with no preconceived notions of what may happen. I want to experience it and try to enjoy it. It's been a long time coming.'
In 2007, the inductions of Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn drew an estimated record crowd of 82,000 to the expansive grass field at the Clark Sports Center on the outskirts of this one-stoplight village in upstate New York. When the wildly popular Jeter was elected in January 2020 that record figured to be in jeopardy because fans had been booking reservations well in advance.
With a mid-week ceremony instead of the traditional Sunday afternoon, school back in session and the threat of inclement weather the Hall of Fame wasn't offering an attendance prediction. The deaths of eight Hall of Famers over the past year and a half, including Hank Aaron and Yankees star Whitey Ford, and the lingering pandemic have limited the number of returning Hall of Famers to 31. Two years ago a record 58 showed up.
The 72-year-old Simmons, a star catcher and first baseman in the 1970s and 1980s for the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, found a silver lining in the long wait.
Jeter leaps over Baltimore Orioles' Gregg Zaun as he turns an inning-ending double play on a ground ball hit by Felix Pie in the eighth inning of the Yankees 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in their baseball game at Yankee Stadium Wednesday, July 22, 2009
'The wait has been good and bad — bad in that you've had to wait an extra year for this thing to kind of come to a head, but good in that it's extended an additional year,' said Simmons, who grew up just outside Detroit. 'It's been such a difficult time for everybody here in the last two years, all over the country, in the workforce, in society in general with this pandemic. The fact that it's now going to happen just brings us closer to some normalcy, which we're all hoping for.'
The self-effacing Walker, now 54, said the delay sort of made his election seem a bit surreal.
'I've been caught on many occasions when somebody wants me to sign something and ... I give it back to them and then they give it back to me because I forget to put HOF2020 on there,' said Walker, who will join Ferguson Jenkins as the only Canadian-born players in the Hall of Fame. 'So I guess that reality of it hasn't sunk in. I don't necessarily consider myself a Hall of Famer at anything.'
Jeter was the 57th player elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on the first try. He was one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous pick, named on 396 of the 397 votes cast. His former Yankees teammate, ace reliever Mariano Rivera, remains the only one.
A key member of five World Series champions, Jeter stayed right where he always wanted to be from 1995-2014 — two decades in the Big Apple playing for a storied franchise.
'The most important thing during my career, what I wanted to be remembered as, I wanted to be remembered as a Yankee. That was it,' he said. 'That was the only team I ever wanted to play for since as far back as I could remember. As you start playing your career you start thinking about legacy. It's much more than what you do on the field. It's the legacy you leave off the field.
'I never wanted my career to be over and then for me to say, 'Well, I wish I would have done a little bit more.' Ultimately, you're judged, especially in New York, by winning. They remember you if you win.'
Hall of Famer Larry Walker waves while being introduced on Wednesday in Cooperstown
'The wait has been good and bad — bad in that you've had to wait an extra year for this thing to kind of come to a head, but good in that it's extended an additional year,' said Simmons, who grew up just outside Detroit. 'It's been such a difficult time for everybody here in the last two years, all over the country, in the workforce, in society in general with this pandemic. The fact that it's now going to happen just brings us closer to some normalcy, which we're all hoping for.' The self-effacing Walker, now 54, said the delay sort of made his election seem a bit surreal. 'I've been caught on many occasions when somebody wants me to sign something and ... I give it back to them and then they give it back to me because I forget to put HOF2020 on there,' said Walker (right as a member of the Expos), who will join Ferguson Jenkins as the only Canadian-born players in the Hall of Fame. 'So I guess that reality of it hasn't sunk in. I don't necessarily consider myself a Hall of Famer at anything'
A Larry Walker Fan waits for the start of the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony
As for those speeches, Simmons said he took care of his right away and Walker said he wrote his, believed it was final, and continued practicing it.
'I'm trying to just keep it short, simple, not going over the top on one subject or any one person or any one team,' said Walker, who starred for the Montreal Expos and Rockies. 'I'm just trying to show how (grateful) I am for this opportunity without having everybody fall asleep.'
And the Captain?
'It's something that I've tried to take my time with,' Jeter said before giving his speech Wednesday. 'I didn't want to get help from anyone. I didn't want anybody to see it before I deliver it. It's kind of hard to cover your entire career in that short a period of time. I'm still working on it.'
Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1983-2009 and now in the same role with the National Hockey League, accepted Miller's plaque and spoke on his behalf. Miller hired Fehr as general counsel of MLBPA in 1977.
'It really comes down to how our house has been built,' said Tony Clark, MLBPA executive director. 'In other words, how he built our house, our players' association, our union. In order for that house to stand the test of time, it has to be built on a strong foundation.'
Executive Director Marvin Miller of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) circa mid 1970's hold a press conference. Miller passed away in 2012
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