Derek Jeter, Hall of Famer already

When the Yankees host Kansas City Friday, Derek Jeter will in all likelihood nail down his 2,000th hit. I don’t feel like figuring out how many guys have gotten to 2,00 faster, and doubtelss some geek on the Yes Netwok already has done the reserch, but suffice to say it’s amazingly fast. Here’s a look at the active leaders in total hits. Look how many fewer games Jeter has played than the rest.


G AB Hits Avg.
1. C Biggio* 2609 9988 2847 .285
2. B Bonds* 2769 9246 2768 .299
3. J Franco* 2401 8447 2528 .299
4. S Finley* 2443 9008 2462 .273
5. G Sheffield* 2216 7991 2378 .298
6. O Vizquel* 2336 8548 2350 .275
7. K Griffey* 2146 7956 2326 .292
8. B Surhoff* 2313 8258 2326 .282
9. J Bagwell* 2150 7797 2314 .297
10. L Gonzalez* 2207 7930 2261 .285
11. B Williams* 1986 7586 2255 .297
12. I Rodriguez* 1927 7366 2241 .304
13. K Lofton* 1868 7281 2178 .299
14. F Thomas* 1996 7083 2161 .305
15. R Sierra* 2179 8032 2150 .268
16. J Kent* 1970 7308 2109 .289
17. D Jeter* 1570 6348 1999 .315


A couple things stand out.
1) Jeter is averaging 206 hits over a 162-game season. At this rate, he'll hit 3,000 in five more years. It's not unfathomable to think he might get to 4,000, though I can't see him putting up with 10 more years of this crappy team.

2) His career average is much higher than I would have guessed. He's hitting better than Bonds, Sheffield, Manny , A-Rod, and Piazza. You have to go down to Vlad Guerrero, at 36 on the active list to find a hitter with a higher average.

3) Who knew Julio Franco was such a good hitter. And at 62 years old, that’s even better than Ty Cobb said he would be hitting at that age.

With these numbers, four rings, and MVP awards from the World Series and All-Star Game in the same year, I have to nominate Jeter for the Hall of Fame already, no matter what he did the rest of his career.