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New York Yankees: 50 greatest players of all-time

By Phil Watson

NEW YORK - MAY 02: The monuments of (L-R) Lou Gehrig, Miller Huggins, and Babe Ruth are seen in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium prior to game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox on May 2, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the White Sox 12-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - MAY 02: The monuments of (L-R) Lou Gehrig, Miller Huggins, and Babe Ruth are seen in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium prior to game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox on May 2, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the White Sox 12-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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New York Yankees
(Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

SS. 1995-2014. Derek Jeter. 5. player. 43.

No one played more games, had more hits, stole more bases or played more years with the Yankees than The Captain, Derek Jeter.

Jeter was the sixth overall pick by the Yankees from Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High School in the 1992 June Amateur Draft and less than three years later, he was making his major league debut at Yankee Stadium in May 1995.

He stuck for good in 1996 and spent most of the next two decades playing the shortstop position and leading the Yankees on and off the field.

Jeter won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 after batting .314/.370/.800 with 10 home runs, 78 RBI and 104 runs while helping New York to its first World Series title in 18 years.

That was just the beginning, though. Jeter was a 14-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner, finishing second in the MVP voting in 2006 and third in both 1998 and 2009.

Jeter batted leadoff or in the No. 2 hole for most of his career and did it well in either spot in the order. Over his 20-year career, Jeter hit .319/.377/.817 with an OPS+ of 115, 260 homers, 1,311 RBI and 1,923 runs.

He is also the only player to eclipse 3,000 hits as a Yankee, finishing with a club-record 3,465.

He led the league in hits more than 10 years apart, stroking 219 safeties in 1999 and finishing atop the AL with 216 hits in 2012, at the age of 38.

A broken bone in his ankle during the playoffs in 2012 nearly ended his career, as he was only able to play in 17 games the following season, but he returned for a solid final season as a 40-year-old in 2014.

Jeter also led the AL with 127 runs in 1998 and finished his career with 97 sacrifice hits and a franchise-record 170 times hit by pitch.

He played almost an entire season in October (and November) as well, hitting .308/.374/.838 in 158 career postseason games, with 20 homers, 61 RBI and 111 runs. Jeter was the 2000 World Series MVP, going 9-for-22 with two homers in a five-game victory over the New York Mets.

Jeter became part owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins in September 2017, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the franchise.

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