If Your Birthday is June 26th...

​...you share it with Derek Jeter. The Captain of the most recent Yankee dynasty and the greatest shortshop ever to call the Bronx his home.  A career full of highlights and headlines: the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, 14-time All Star and five-time World Series champion.  Earning his nickname Mister November for the first home run ever in the 11th month -- a walk-off shot in game four of the 2001 World Series -- reaching  the 3000 hit milestone by going 5-for-5; and becoming the first player with 200 career post-season hits.
What comes to mind instantly is his presence -- the instinctive baseball knowledge, the leadership, the mental focus, the uncanny sense that by the middle of his rookie year with the Yankees, he was the best player on the field. The lifelong Yankee fan with New Jersey grandparents exuded the cool, calm demeanor with a hint of a Di Maggio. 

Along with another uncommonly well-grounded legend, Mariano Rivera, Jeter personified his Yankee era. ​ Without a doubt the greatest player ever born on June 26th, Jeter ​i​s the first player with his birthday to be inducted to baseball's Hall of Fame. 



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