Maroon Giant To Hall Of Famer; Jeter Headed For Cooperstown

Derek Sanderson Jeter is now a baseball Hall of Famer. Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo's Westwood neighborhood, and ran cross-country and played basketball, in addition to playing baseball at Kalamazoo Central.

Much like Michael Jordan, although he was highly touted coming out of high school, he was not the overall number one pick of the MLB draft in 1992. The Houston Astros were worried he'd ask for too much of a signing bonus. And since he spent his summers in New Jersey with his grandparents, and grew up a Yankees fan, his career began to shape in a storybook tale. He was called up in late May 1995, but was sent back down to the minors. In 1996, he became the full time New York Yankees shortstop, and was voted AL Rookie of the Year. That season, the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978. They would go on to win four more during Jeter's career, where he picked up the nicknames "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November".

He had over 3000 career hits, was a 14-time All Star selection and won five Gold Gloves (for fielding).