Yankees' Derek Jeter, Rockies' Larry Walker Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Derek Jeter

Former New York Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter, and outfielder Larry Walker were both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday night, though their paths to glory could not have been more different.

Jeter, now the CEO of the Miami Marlins, received all but one first place vote in his first time on the ballot. Walker got 76.6% of the votes on his 10th and final try, making the grade by a mere 10 votes. Walker joins former Cubs' pitcher Ferguson Jenkins as the only other Canadian-born member of the Hall.

Jeter played every season of his 20-year career - from 1995 though 2014 - with the New York Yankees, during which the Bronx Bombers won five World Series, reaching the playoffs in all but four seasons. Jeter won various awards including Rookie of the Year (1995), All-Star game MVP, World Series MVP (2009), and five gold gloves.

During his run, Jeter had 3465 hits in 11195 at-bats for a .310 regular season average.Jeter socked 260 home runs, drove in 1311, and scored 1923 times. He swiped 358 bases and finished with an on-base percentage of .377.

For all his accomplishments, Jeter never won a batting title nor a regular season MVP award, finishing second in 2006, and third in the voting in both 1998 and 2009. His base hits total of 3465 is sixth all-time, trailing only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, and Tris Speaker.

Larry Walker

Walker, a five time All-Star, played 17 seasons starting in 1989, six of them with the Montreal Expos, nine full seasons with the Colorado Rockies, and part of 2004 with the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he finished his career in 2005.

A prolific hitter, Walker had 2160 hits in 6907 at-bats for a lifetime .313 regular season batting average. He led the National League in batting three times, hitting .363 in 1998, .379 in 1999, and .350 in 2001. He earned the NL MVP award in a season in which he did not win the batting title. In 1997, he batted .366 and led the league with 49 home runs, 409 total bases, a .452 on-base percentage, .720 slugging, and 1.172 OPS.

Walker's post-season play was limited to just three seasons, two with the Cardinals (2004 and 2005) and one with the Rockies (1995). His best performance was in 2004, when the Cardinals were swept by the Red Sox. Walker batted .357 (5-for-14) with two doubles, two homers, and three RBI.

Induction to the Hall will be made official on July 26 at Cooperstown, NY along with catcher Ted Simmons and former players' association head Marvin Miller, who were voted in last month by the Hall's Modern Era Committee.

MLB Pitchers, Catchers, Full Squad Reporting Dates

Baseball season isn't as far away as some people might think.

The Sporting News has information on reporting dates for all MLB teams, broken down by dates for pitchers and catchers, and then, full squad.

All major league teams will have pitchers and catchers report on either February 12 or 13, and full squads have their first scheduled practices on either the 17th or 18th.

The Royals and Rangers will open the exhibition season with the first spring training game, played February 21st at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. That game starts the Cactus League schedule.

Florida's Grapefruit League opens the following day with eight games on the slate.