New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday September 8th, after being selected for the honor in his first year of eligibility in 2020.

On an induction day that seemed for months as if it would never come, Jeter went into the Hall of Fame with two other players alongside him: longtime St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons and former Expos and Rockies right fielder Larry Walker. Former Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Marvin Miller, who died in 2012, was also posthumously inducted alongside these three players. In front of a crowd dominated by Yankees navy-and-white no. 2 jerseys, the other three inductees could almost be considered an afterthought.

The Yankees drafted Jeter out of his Kalamazoo, Michigan high school with the sixth-overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. Although he struggled at each level of development he went through in the minor leagues, he overcame each challenge presented to him, and he debuted in the major leagues at age 20 in 1995.

By 1996, Jeter had become the Yankees’ starting shortstop. He won the Rookie of the Year Award that season, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves. Jeter would continue to excel as the Yankees won three consecutive championships from 1998 to 2000; he was third in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. Starting in 2003, Jeter began serving as the Yankees’ team captain, and he would win a fifth World Series with the Yankees in 2009.

Jeter consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for most of his career, and was a fourteen-time All Star in his 20 years in the Major League. Although occasionally shaky on defense, he overcame each and every challenge his critics presented, and contributed reliably to the Yankees’ franchise successes throughout his career. He holds many postseason records, and his .321 batting average in the World Series led to the nickname “Mr. November.” In honor of his achievements and contributions to the Yankees, his jersey no. 2 was retired in 2017.

Also in attendance were Jeter’s wife, Hannah, and their two daughters — 19-month-old Story Grey and 3-year-old Bella Raine Jeter. The Jeter family sighting at a public event is certainly a rare moment, as their family life has been very private. Although Hannah is a model and recognizes it as an unavoidable part of her industry, she also prefers to keep her children and personal life away from the spotlight in order to protect them. 

After waiting out his standing ovation and the familiar “DER-EK JE-TER” chants from the crowd at the induction ceremony, Jeter closed his speech saying, “It’s been a hell of a ride.”