New York Yankees: Defining the Biggest Moments of Derek Jeter's Career

Mark the day down: July 9, 2011.

Derek Jeter became the 28th person in Major League Baseball history to join the 3,000-hit club.

For the New York Yankees, Jeter becomes the very first active member of the team to ever accomplish the milestone.

For 15 years, Jeter has accomplished so much in his career and his resume of accomplishments goes on.

So what has made Jeter the legend he is in New York?

Let's find out what has defined Jeter in his career to date.

May 30, 1995: Hit No. 1

On May 30, 1995, a 21-year-old kid by the name of Derek Jeter was getting some of his first playing time with the New York Yankees.

At the time, Tony Fernandez was the starting shortstop, but Jeter still got his crack at the Major Leagues.

His very first hit was off Tim Belcher back in the old Kingdome against the Seattle Mariners.

It was hit No. 1—the first of many more hits and memories to come.

April 2, 1996: First MLB HR

On April 2, 1996, Derek Jeter became the starting shortstop for the Yankees as a rookie.

On Opening Day against the Cleveland Indians and Dennis Martinez pitching, Jeter cranked out his first home run of his major league career.

People were wondering if a 21-year-old kid could make it as the starting shortstop with the Yankees.

After this game, they had a feeling Jeter was for real.

October 9, 1996: The Jeffrey Maier Game

The Yankees won the American League East in 1996 and swept the Texas Rangers in the ALDS.

They went on to play the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series.

In Game 1 of the ALCS, Jeter hits a fly ball to deep right in the bottom of the eighth inning. Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco goes to catch it, but a 12-year-old fan by the name of Jeffrey Maier reaches over the wall and pulls the ball over.

The umpires ruled that it was in fact a game-tying home run for Jeter, his first one of the postseason.

The Yankees went on to win Game 1 and win the ALCS over the Orioles.

1996 World Series: First Championship

As a 22-year-old rookie, Jeter won his first championship as the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series.

Jeter only batted .250 in the series, going 5-for-20.

The championship for Jeter was the first of many to come in his career though.

1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year

In 1996, Derek Jeter hit .310 with 10 home runs and 78 RBI.

He had 183 hits, scored 104 runs and had an on-base percentage of .370.

Those numbers were good enough to win Jeter the 1996 American League Rookie of the Year award.

1998 World Series: Second Championship

In 1998, Jeter's third full season with the Yankees, he won his second World Series with the team.

Sweeping the San Diego Padres, Jeter hit .353, hitting 6-for-17 in the series.

Jeter also finished third in the American League MVP voting that season.

In the regular season, Jeter hit .324 with 19 home runs, 84 RBI and 203 hits.

1998 was also Jeter's first time being selected to the All-Star game.

1999 World Series: Third Championship

Following a season where they won 125 games, the Yankees re-entered the playoffs and steam-rolled back to their second straight World Series—the Yankees won the Fall Classic, sweeping the Atlanta Braves.

For Derek Jeter, it was his third championship in four short seasons.

In the 1999 Fall Classic, Jeter hit .353, going 6-for-17, having another fine outing on the biggest stage in baseball.

In the regular season, Jeter hit .349 for the season with 24 home runs and 102 RBI. He finished sixth in the A.L. MVP voting.

July 11, 2000: All-Star Game MVP

Derek Jeter was originally selected to the 2000 All-Star squad, but Alex Rodriguez was supposed to start, but declined to play due to injury at the time.

No worries for the now 26-year-old Jeter, as he went 3-for-3 in the game which was held at Turner Field in Atlanta.

Jeter doubled off Randy Johnson in the first inning.

He hit a single off Kevin Brown and scored a run in the third inning.

It was his two-run RBI single off Al Leiter that put the A.L. team up 3-1 and they never let up the lead.

For his efforts, Jeter won the 2000 All-Star Game MVP award, becoming the first Yankee to ever win the award.

2000 World Series: Fourth Championship

The Yankees were in their third consecutive World Series playing a different opponent in the Fall Classic.

First the Padres, then the Braves, now it's the cross-town New York Mets in the Subway Series.

On paper, the Mets looked to be the better team. On the field, it wasn't even close.

The Yankees trampled over the Mets four games to one and the Yankees won their fourth World Series in five years.

For Jeter, now 27, he has also won his fourth World Series in his career in such a short time.

How'd he do in the series?

October 26, 2000: World Series MVP

In that World Series, Jeter tore up the Mets.

He hit .409, going 9-for-22 in the series with two huge home runs.

In Game 4, Jeter led off the game with a solo home run off Bobby Jones and the Yankees never looked back as they beat the Mets 3-2.

In Game 5, Jeter hit a game-tying home run off Al Leiter and, eventually, the Yankees went on to win the game 4-2 and win the series.

For his efforts in the series, Jeter took home the 2000 World Series MVP award.

So, in the same season, Jeter won the All-Star Game MVP award, the World Series and the World Series MVP award.

In the regular season, Jeter also hit .339 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI and finished 10th in the A.L. MVP voting.

October 13, 2001: The Flip Play

The Yankees were down 0-2 against the Oakland A's in the ALDS.

Up 1-0, the Yankees looked like they would get back into the series.

In the bottom of the seventh inning and Jeremy Giambi on first, Terrence Long hit a line-drive double off Mike Mussina to right.

Shane Spencer fielded the ball and threw it back in, missing the cut-off man. Jeter raced across the field, picked up the ball from Spencer, flipped the ball to Jorge Posada, who tagged Giambi on the leg, who failed to slide and was called out at home.

That play changed the whole series and the Yankees went on to beat Oakland 3-2 in the ALDS.

November 1, 2001: Mr. November

Down 2-1 in the series, the Yankees were looking for a rally.

They got it with a game-tying home run from Tino Martinez off Byung-Hyun Kim in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the game 3-3.

In the 10th inning, the clock struck midnight and the calendar changed from October 31 to November 1.

For the first time in history, the World Series was being played in November.

Entering his second inning, Kim was still trying to get over blowing that save.

Then Jeter drives a pitch from Kim over the right field wall for a game-winning home run to make the series 2-2.

It was this night where Jeter earned the nickname "Mr. November."

June 3, 2003: Yankees Team Captain

On June 3, 2003, it was a great day for the 29-year-old Jeter.

He was named the 14th team captain in Yankees history. Before Jeter, the last captain of the Yankees was Don Mattingly, who held it until 1995.

Eight years the Yankees went without one until Jeter got named. He's held the title since.

Jeter joined the likes of Mattingly, Babe Ruth, Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig and Ron Guidry, all members of the team who held that honor.

July 1, 2004: The Dive Play

The pennant race between the Yankees and Red Sox was heating up in 2004.

On July 1, in the third game of the series at Yankee Stadium, it was really heating up.

In the top of the 12th inning with runners on second and third and two outs, Trot Nixon hits a high pop-up that starts to drift off towards the stands behind third base and left field.

Derek Jeter is in a full sprint for the ball, makes an over-the-shoulder grab for the ball and, with his momentum taking him in that direction, lands three rows into the stands to complete the play, holding onto the ball in the process of diving into the stands.

Jeter suffered cuts on his face and chin and had to be taken out of the game as a precaution.

The Yankees went onto win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning, but this play showed that Jeter was willing to sacrifice himself to win a game for his team.

2006 Season: Runner-Up for MVP

In his 11th season with the Yankees, Derek Jeter had one of his finest with them.

He hit .343 with 14 home runs and 97 RBI.

He had 214 hits, scored 118 runs and had 34 stolen bases.

Many people thought Jeter was the odds-on favorite to win the 2006 A.L. MVP award.

Instead, he finished second to Justin Morneau, who had 34 home runs and 130 RBI.

Even though Morneau might have had the power numbers, Jeter was better in every other category and yet still got robbed of the award.

If you want a similar comparison, in 2008 Dustin Pedroia won the A.L. MVP award.

Pedroia's numbers that year: 17 home runs, 83 RBI, 213 hits, 118 runs, a .326 average and 20 steals.

Jeter and Pedroia had similar seasons in 2006 and 2008, yet Pedroia wins the award over Morneau, while Jeter does not.

Still to this date, I say that Jeter got robbed of that award. Even so, it was still a great year for Jeter.

Septeber 16, 2008: 1,270

Lou Gehrig held a ton of awards for many years for the Yankees.

That was, until Derek Jeter crept up and started breaking them.

Gehrig had 1,269 career hits in the old Yankee Stadium.

Then, on September 16, 2008, Jeter hit a single in the first inning off Gavin Floyd to surpass Gehrig's record to 1,270 hits and became the all-time hit leader.

That record will never be broken, since 2008 was the final year of that stadium.

September 21, 2008: The Farewell Speech

From 1923 to 2008, Yankee Stadium was home to many historic moments and a ton of great games.

On September 21, 2008, the final game was played there as the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

The Yankees were on the verge of elimination from playoff contention, so there would be no playoff games played and the team would move across the street into a new billion-dollar stadium.

Following the game, Derek Jeter grabbed the microphone and spoke to the Yankee faithful in attendance and to those watching on YES and on ESPN.

In the speech, he said the following:

"

For all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play. And every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years.

There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history, and a lot of memories. Now the great thing about memories is you're able to pass it along from generation to generation. And although things are going to change next year, we're going to move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change—its pride, its tradition, and most of all, we have the greatest fans in the world.

We're relying on you to take the memories from this stadium and add them to the new memories that come to the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. On behalf of this entire organization, we want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.

"

Jeter and the team then took off their caps, waved them, then went around the stadium saluting the fans in a very emotional night, closing the doors of a historic place.

September 11, 2009: 2,722

For 72 years, Lou Gehrig was the Yankees all-time hits leader with 2,721 hits.

On September 11, 2009, that record would be surpassed by Jeter.

In the third inning, Jeter hit a line-drive single to right off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman, and Jeter stood alone as the all-time leader in hits for the Yankees.

The Yankees actually went on to lose that game to the Orioles, but nobody remembered the outcome that night.

All they remembered was that it was Jeter's night.

2009 World Series: Fifth Championship

Nine years between championships, but the wait was worth it that night.

The Yankees were coming in playing the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in the Fall Classic.

Up 3-2 in the series, Hideki Matsui went on a tear off Pedro Martinez and the Phillies bullpen and the Yankees won 7-3 and their 27th World Series title.

For Jeter, now 35, it was his fifth championship of his career.

During the series, Jeter hit .407, hitting 11-for-27 against the Phillies.

If not for Matsui's tear against Philadelphia (.615, 8-for-13, three home runs, eight RBI), Jeter could have won the award.

In the regular season, Jeter hit .334 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI and finished third in the A.L. MVP voting.

July 9, 2011: 3,000

This will be the swing that everyone will remember for a long time.

On July 9, 2011, history was made at Yankee Stadium.

Going into the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeter was at 2,998 career hits, just two shy of 3,000.

In the first inning, Jeter singled to left off David Price for 2,999.

In the third inning, Jeter worked the count to 3-2. Then Price hung a slider that Jeter absolutely crushed and sent into the left-field seats for a home run.

For the 28th time in history, Jeter joined the 3,000-hit club.

For the first time in Yankees history, Jeter is the only active member of the organization to accomplish the historic milestone.

Jeter ended the day going 5-for-5, including the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning to put the Yankees ahead for good, 5-4.

Cooperstown Bound

Jeter has done it all in his career.

As of July 9, he has 3,003 career hits and counting.

Jeter also has 237 home runs, 1,159 RBI, 1,727 runs, 330 stolen bases and a .312 average.

He is a career .309 hitter in the playoffs.

His is also a career .321 hitter in the World Series.

He's been a 12-time American League All-Star.

He's won five Gold Glove awards and three Silver Slugger awards.

He finished in the top 10 of the A.L. MVP voting seven times and finished three times in the top three.

He won the MVP award of the All-Star game and the World Series.

He has won 11 A.L. East division titles, seven American League championships and five World Series titles.

At 37, Jeter has done it all. And he has one last milestone to accomplish.

Whenever Jeter decides to call it a career, in five years, Jeter will be a guaranteed lock to be enshrined in Cooperstown as part of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

And, the No. 2 will certainly be retired by the Yankees and forever be a part of Monument Park with the 17 other current retired numbers (16 of which were Yankees).

Derek Jeter has had an amazing career. And it's not over yet. He still has a long way to go.

July 9, 2011 was a historic day and a great one to be a Yankee fan. Congratulations Derek, you earned it.