Joe Torre has often repeated he wouldn’t have gotten to Cooperstown without Derek Jeter, but on the day Torre was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Jeter said he hasn’t considered his own candidacy.
“I try not to,” Jeter said before the Yankees lost to the Blue Jays, 5-4, at Yankee Stadium. “I really don’t. That’s something I’ll think about when my career is over. My career’s not over. I’m not even thinking about next month, let alone five years down the road.”
He was also unaware Tom Seaver, who was voted into the Hall with the highest percentage of votes, recently said the shortstop should be the first player voted in unanimously.
“Anytime you find out something like that from someone you respect, it’s good to hear,” Jeter said before going 1-for-3, leaving him two hits shy of tying Carl Yastrzemski for seventh all-time at 3,419. “But I’ve always been pretty good at focusing on one day at a time, so for right now, I’m just happy that Mr. T. is getting his day.”
Jeter hasn’t visited the Hall of Fame since he was a child.
“I don’t remember much from it,” Jeter said. “I was a kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan. My dream was to play in the major leagues. That was the only thing I was thinking about.”
And apparently, that hasn’t changed.