National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees pitcher speaks during an induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on Sunday, July 21, 2019, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Big shoutout to Mariano Rivera aka “The Sandman” for getting inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame UNANIMOUSLY! Rivera was the best at his craft and is remembered as the greatest Closer ever to play. Nobody deserves to be in the same building as this man and if you say, Trevor Hoffman then you are a moron. Throughout baseball history, there have been many dominant relief pitchers that only lasted a few years and then fumbled out of the league. If you took a look at Mariano Rivera’s resume and his career went in the opposite direction compared to other relievers. From 1997 when he became the Closer until the end of his career, he was the closest thing to perfection.

Mariano Rivera:
82-60 W-L
2.21 ERA
1,283.2 IP
652 Saves
952 Games Finished
1.000 WHIP

Postseason (96 Appearances):
8-1 W-L
0.70 ERA
141 IP
42 Saves
78 Games Finished
0.759 WHIP

Now onto Jeter’s career on the field. Where do I even start? When I was growing up to have a career like Jeter had was every kid’s dream.

Derek Jeter Career Statistics (1995-2014):
260 HR
1,311 RBI’s
.310 AVG
3,465 HITS

162 Game Average .310 BA, 15 HR, 77 RBI’s, 204 HITS, .377 OBP
Playoff Stats (158 Games):.308 BA, 20 HR, 61 RBI’s, 200 HITS, .374 OBP

Derek Jeter was a five-time World Series champion, appeared in 14 All-Star games, won five Gold Glove and Silver Sluggers, as well as the 1996 Rookie of the Year award. Jeter gave the game everything he had and would always put his body on the line every second of every game he played, like in July of 2004 when the Yankees played the Red Sox, and he dove into the stands head first to catch a foul ball. Was Jeter known for winning batting titles, or hitting home runs all the time? No, he never won a batting title, and he only hit 20 or more home runs three times. However, he recorded 156 or more hits in 17 of the 20 seasons he played. He would give 15-20 home runs and about 70 RBI’s consistently for most of his career, and for a leadoff hitter that’s a lot. He also hit well over .300 for the majority of his career.

The three significant statistical milestones that determine whether a hitter is Hall of Fame worthy are 500 home runs, 3,000 Hits, and 1,500 RBI’s. He finished his career with 3,465 career hits which is 6th all-time. For a guy who hit leadoff for most of his career 1,311 RBI’s is an extraordinary statistic. Maybe home runs weren’t Jeter’s strong area, but 260 is nothing to sneeze at. Also, getting walks, hits, and stealing bases are more important. The early 20th-century ballplayers like Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner would agree with me.

Jeter played his best in big moments such the playoffs, 200 hits in 158 career playoff games. Now if we’re just talking about big moments, I can’t decide which one was better “The Flip Play” in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS against the Athletics or the walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series after midnight on November 1st giving him the nickname “Mr. Novemeber.” Those defining moments gave Jeter the reputation of a player who performed at his big, when he was most needed, in the best possible situation.

Derek Jeter is arguably the most well-respected player ever to play even his opponents would say that. To prove that I’m not being biased because I’m a Yankee fan, I went to Fenway for Jeter’s second to last game in September of 2014, and all over the ballpark, the Red Sox team stores were selling Derek Jeter merchandise. That shows you how well respected he was, even to Red Sox fans. The bottom line is that Derek Jeter is the perfect example of a Hall of Fame player, whether it was on or off the field. So I expect Jeter to be inducted next year as the second Unanimous player. If he doesn’t get in unanimously, then the Hall of Fame is a joke, and they should just bulldoze the Hall of Fame building. I rest my case!