NEW YORK -- In front of a packed Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees retired No. 2 in honor of Derek Jeter on Sunday. The club's long-time captain and all-time hits leader retired following the 2014 season. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2019.
As part of the ceremony, the Yankees dedicated a plaque in Monument Park in Jeter's honor. Here is the plaque reveal:
Derek Jeterâ unveils his Monument Park plaque. #JeterNightpic.twitter.com/NR7FNUUCJg
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 14, 2017
And here is the plaque text, courtesy of the Yankees:
DEREK SANDERSON JETER
"THE CAPTAIN"
"MR. NOVEMBER"NEW YORK YANKEES
1995 - 2014AS THE CORNERSTONE OF FIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS, JETER WAS A LEADER ON THE FIELD AND IN THE CLUBHOUSE, SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR HIS TEAMMATES WITH HIS UNCOMPROMISING DESIRE FOR TEAM SUCCESS.
HE RETIRED WITH A FRANCHISE-BEST 3,465 HITS -- SIXTH ON BASEBALL'S ALL-TIME LIST â HAVING PLAYED MORE SEASONS (20) AND GAMES (2,747) THAN ANY OTHER YANKEE. A LIFETIME .310 HITTER WITH A .377 ON-BASE PERCENTAGE, JETER WAS THE LONGEST TENURED CAPTAIN IN TEAM HISTORY, HOLDING THE ROLE FROM JUNE 3, 2003 THROUGH THE END OF HIS CAREER IN 2014.
JETER GARNERED 14 ALL-STAR NOMINATIONS, FIVE GOLD GLOVES, AND FIVE SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS. IN 2000, THE SHORTSTOP BECAME THE FIRST PLAYER IN MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY TO BE NAMED ALL-STAR GAME MVP AND WORLD SERIES MVP IN THE SAME SEASON.
A CONSISTENT WINNER, HE COMPILED AN INCREDIBLE .593 REGULAR SEASON WINNING PERCENTAGE (1,628-1,117-2) IN GAMES PLAYED, AND HE RETIRED AS BASEBALL'S ALL-TIME POSTSEASON LEADER IN GAMES (158), HITS (200), RUNS (111), AND DOUBLES (32).
DEDICATED BY THE
NEW YORK YANKEES
MAY 14, 2017
No. 2 is the 21st number retired by the Yankees. Both No. 8 (Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey) and No. 42 (Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera) have been retired twice. All the single-digit numbers are now retired.