Derek Jeter Yankee timeline
Credit: AP
1996: Rookie of the Year
.315 AVG, 10 HR, 78 RBI
In his first full season, he became the fifth Yankee to win the American League Rookie of the Year award. He also guided the Yankees to their first World Series win in 18 years as they beat the Braves in six games. Jeter batted .361 in the 1996 playoffs. His most memorable moment came in Game 1 of the ALCS when his fly ball to rightfield was ruled a home run even though 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier leaned over the field and grabbed it away from Baltimore's Tony Tarasco.
Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
1997: Defending champions come up short
.291 AVG 10 HR, 70 RBI
Led the AL in plate appearances (748) and was third in hits (190). It was his second season with 100+ runs. Despite the strong year, the Yankees were not able to repeat as champions, falling to the Indians in the ALDS. Jeter batted .333 in the five-game series with two home runs. It was a sign of things to come for Jeter in the month of October.
Credit: AP
1998: Dominant Yankees, dominant shortstop
.324 AVG, 19 HR, 84 RBI
Jeter finished third in the AL MVP voting, led the American League in runs (127) and was third in hits (203). The Yankees won 114 games during the regular season, which was an AL record at the time. The Yanks cruised into October and met the Padres in the World Series. The Yankees swept San Diego; Jeter batted .353 in the Fall Classic.
Credit: Leslie Mazoch
1999: Best season of Jeter's career
.349 AVG, 24 HR, 102 RBI
Jeter set career-highs in average, home runs, and RBIs in 1999. He hit .375 in the playoffs and extended his postseason hitting streak to 17 games, tying Hank Bauer's all-time record. The Yankees won their second straight title and third in four years.
Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
2000: Two MVP awards
.339 AVG, 15 HR, 73 RBI
He became the first player to be named the MVP of the All-Star game and the World Series in the same season. More importantly, it was the third consecutive title for the Yankees and probably the most rewarding, as the Yankees beat their cross-town rivals, the Mets, in five games. Jeter hit two home runs and batted .409 in the Series.
Credit: Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill
2001: "The Flip" and "Mr. November"
.311 AVG, 21 HR, 74 RBI
In 2001, Jeter established the record for most career hits in the postseason, breaking Pete Rose's record of 86. Jeter completed one of the all-time great postseason defensive plays, known as "The Flip," in the ALDS against Jeremy Giambi and the A's. In the World Series, Jeter hit MLB's first-ever November home run to give the Yankees a dramatic Game 4 win over Arizona in extra innings. The Yankees would lose the series to the Diamondbacks in seven.
Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
2002: A scoring machine
.297 AVG, 18 HR, 75 RBI
Jeter became the third player since 1900 to score 100-plus runs in each of his first seven seasons. Jeter played in his fifth straight All-Star Game, but didn't play deep into October. For the first time since 1997, the Yankees were not in the ALCS or World Series as they lost to the Angels in the ALDS. Jeter still batted .500 in the four-game series, with two home runs.
Credit: AP
2003: The Yankee Captain
.324 AVG, 10 HR, 52 RBI
Jeter's season got off to a rocky start when dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day, forcing him to miss 36 games. But his fortunes improved on June 3, 2003, when George Steinbrenner named Jeter the 11th captain in Yankees history. Jeter was the first captain since Don Mattingly's retirement in 1995. The Yankees returned to the World Series, where they faced the Marlins. Jeter furthered his reputation for being a clutch performer, batting .346 in the Series, but the Yankees lost in six games.
Credit: Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill
2004: Add a Gold Glove to his resume
.292 AVG, 23 HR, 78 RBI
After nine seasons, Jeter finally won a Gold Glove award for his work at shortstop. In the ALDS against the Twins, Jeter batted .316 with one homer and four RBIs. But the Yankees lost the AL pennant to the Red Sox after taking a 3-0 lead in the series.
Credit: Getty Images
2005: Building a legacy
.309 AVG, 19 HR, 70 RBI
The achievements just kept piling up in 2005. Jeter won his second straight Gold Glove and played in his 1,500th career game. He was second in the AL with 122 runs scored and eclipsed 200 hits for the fourth-straight season. The Yankees clinched yet another AL East title and faced the Angels in the ALDS. They lost in five games, despite Jeter's .333 average and one home run.
Credit: Getty Images
2006: A near-miss MVP
.343. AVG, 14 HR, 97 RBI
After finishing second in the league in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118) and third in hits (214), Jeter was the runner-up in AL MVP voting to Minnesota's Justin Morneau. The Yankees were bounced out of the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year, but Jeter once again did his part, batting .500 in four games against the Detroit Tigers.
Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
2007: October frustrations and the end of an era
.322 AVG, 12 HR, 73 RBI
Jeter won his second-straight Silver Slugger Award as the top offensive shortstop in the AL. But October brought a third straight early exit for the Yankees and struggles for the usually consistent Jeter. He batted .176 in a four-game ALDS loss to the Indians. The disappointment marked the end of an era for the Yankees and Jeter, as Joe Torre departed as manager in the offseason.
Credit: AP
2008: A bittersweet goodbye to the Cathedral
.300 AVG, 11 HR, 69 RBI
Jeter surpassed Lou Gehrig for the most career hits at Yankee Stadium, appeared in his ninth All-Star Game and won his third-straight Silver Slugger Award. But the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time on Jeter's watch. On Sept. 21, 2008, the lights went out at Yankee Stadium for good. Jeter delivered the farewell speech to the old Yankee Stadium after a win over the Orioles.
Credit: David Pokress
2009: The Yankee hit king is a champ again
.334 AVG, 18 HR, 66 RBI
Jeter's season was punctuated by the remarkable achievement of passing Lou Gehrig to become the Yankees' all-time hits leader. He finished third in MVP voting behind teammate Mark Teixeira and Minnesota's Joe Mauer and guided the Yankees back to the playoffs. Jeter batted .355 in the playoffs and .407 in the World Series as the Yankees defeated the Phillies in six games and won their 27th World Championship.
Credit: Jim McIsaac
2010: Yanks can't repeat
.270 AVG, 10 HR, 67 RBI
In his 16th season, Jeter batted under .292 for the first time in his career. His on-base percentage and slugging percentage also hit career lows. In the ALDS against the Twins Jeter batted .286 with one RBI. His bat went cold, as did the Yankee lineup, against the Rangers in the ALCS. Jeter hit .231 with one RBI and seven strikeouts. Is it a sign that the captain may finally be on the down side of his career?
Credit: David L. Pokress
2011: Mr. 3,000
.297 AVG, 6 HR, 61 RBI
Statistically, Jeter didn't have a stand-out season, but it was one moment that made the season memorable -- his 3,000th career hit. He became the first Yankee in history to reach the milestone with a third-inning home run off Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price on July 3, 2011. He ended the season with 3,088 career hits.
Credit: Jim McIsaac
2012: Resurgence, then disaster
.316 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI
Jeter had a bounce-back year in 2012, posting his first .300 season since 2009 and recording 216 hits (second-highest single-season mark in his career). But then, disaster struck in the playoffs. He suffered what is later diagnosed as a fractured left ankle in 12th inning of the Yankees' ALCS Game 1 loss to the Tigers on Oct. 13, 2012 while trying to field a ground ball to his left. He had surgery on the ankle a week later.
Credit: Jim McIsaac
2013: A struggle to stay healthy
.190 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI
Jeter was expected to return from his fractured left ankle in time for spring training, but suffered a setback and didn't make his debut until July 11. He suffered a quadriceps strain that game that kept him out until July 28. He homered on his first pitch back from that injury, but landed on the DL again Aug. 3 with a right calf strain and didn't return until Aug. 26. He was placed on the DL for the final time on Sept. 11, ending his season.
Credit: Getty Images / Mitchell Layton
2014: The farewell tour
.256 AVG, 4 HR, 46 RBI (through Sept. 22)
Jeter announced before the start of the season that 2014 would be his last in the majors. What followed was a bittersweet year punctuated by fans, other franchises and corporations showing their appreciation for Jeter through gifts, donations, commercials and plenty of applause. Despite struggling offensively, Jeter was selected to his 14th All-Star Game, where he had two hits. He stayed healthy, playing 140 games through Sept. 22 and starting 127 games at shortstop.
Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Sept. 26, 2014: The perfect ending
Jeter doubled home a run and later scored to tie the game in the first inning during his final game at Yankee Stadium. He reached on a throwing error in the seventh inning, with two runs scoring on the play to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. The Yankees took a 5-2 edge into the ninth, but closer David Robertson allowed a two-run home run to Adam Jones and then a score-tying solo shot to Steve Pearce. In the bottom of the inning, Jose Pirela singled. Antoan Richardson pinch-ran for him and was sacrificed to second by Brett Gardner. Jeter sent the first pitch he saw into right field, scoring Richardson for the walk-off win. Jeter was mobbed by his teammates and greeted at the dugout steps by several retired Yankees he had played with, including Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Tino Martinez.
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