Derek Jeter's unfortunate Yankees record

Derek Jeter is the definition of a New York Yankee. He has in 2,747 games as a Yankee, more than any other player. He is the franchise all time hits leader with 3,465. He also tallied the most singles with 2,595, most career doubles with 544, and most steals with 358. He won five World Series in his career. He was World Series MVP in 2000 and won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996. But above all that, Jeter is the not-so-proud owner of yet another Yankee record.

Derek Jeter was hit by 170 pitches in his 20-year career. That is more than any other Yankee all time. It’s interesting to think that a player so widely liked could have been hit so much in his career. I’m sure he was rarely, if ever, intentionally targeted, but it’s an interesting correlation. Jeter’s lead within the Yankees organization is hefty as well, with 56 more HBP than second place Frankie Crosetti.

Now, part of this, of course, is strictly due to longevity and an entire career with the same organization. But Jeter matches up well in the entirety of baseball history as well. His 170 HBP is 15^th on the all-time list. Of players active in the '90s and beyond, Jeter ranks sixth all time. On the latter list, he has company like Jason Giambi, Craig Biggio and Carlos Delgado.

The surprising thing about Jeter’s record is that his single seasons in the category are very polarizing. During seven of his 20 seasons he was hit fewer than six times. But on the other end of the spectrum he also had six seasons where he was hit over 12 times, maxing out at 14 in 2004 and 2007.

Jeter’s place in record books is overly abundant. Technically, this is yet another record for Jeter to hold, but I’m quite sure it’s not one he’s necessarily happy with. However, I’m sure if he were confronted with it, he’d flash that classic smile accompanied with a super cliché saying, though no one would mind because, hey, it’s The Captain.