Derek Jeter: Where Does the New York Yankees Slugger Rank All-Time?

Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees has recently reached 3,000 hits in epic fashion. The whole team rejoiced as he rounded the bases with his home run over the left field wall. Players like Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano and more ran out to celebrate with Jeter. But this left us all wondering, where does Jeter belong when it comes to the best players in MLB history?

Jeter has been sensational since winning Rookie of the Year in 1996, and he has continued his dominance with the Yankees for well-over a decade.

Jeter has become the most well-known player of the era, and he has done so without receiving negative publicity like other sluggers have.

Let's see where Jeter ranks among all-time greats.

Among All-Time Shortstops

Derek Jeter has played shortstop in the MLB for over 15 seasons, so it's only natural to see where he ranks among the greatest shortstops in history.

First, we must decide who can be considered a shortstop. Players like Alex Rodriguez and Robin Yount cannot be eligible because they played a substantial amount of time at other positions.

We know that Jeter is easily going to be in the top 10. He has done better than other legendary shortstops such as Barry Larkin, Arky Vaughan and Pee Wee Reese.

In a recent poll done by Courant.com, 40 percent of voters said Jeter is the best shortstop of all-time, including Rodriguez and Ernie Banks.

However, we cannot realistically say that Jeter is better than Cal Ripken or Honus Wagner. Both of these players hit very well, and they also have more RBI than Jeter. Wagner would have more home runs if he played in a different era, and Ripken has almost double Jeter's home runs.

Jeter ranks third on the all-time list of shortstops:

1. Honus Wagner (.328 BA, 101 HR, 1,733 RBI)
2. Cal Ripken (.276 BA, 431 HR, 1,695 RBI)
3. Derek Jeter (.313 BA, 237 HR, 1,159 RBI)

Among Members of the 3,000 Hit Club

The 28 members of the 3,000 hit club are some of the best in baseball history. It takes a consistent swing, good health, and a lot of luck to reach 3,000 hits.

Some of the greatest players of all-time have not reached 3,000 hits, including Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds (even with PEDs) and more.

Of the great men to reach 3,000 hits, Derek Jeter is not very special among them.

Jeter is not in the top 10 in any of the major statistical categories. He is 13th in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, 15th in home runs, 23rd in RBI, 12th in stolen bases, 14th in runs scored, 19th in OPS and 24th in WAR.

He has the most World Series titles, and the 12th most All-Star Game appearances, but he is still not one of the best.

Of these 28 players, Jeter is not in the top 10. Not the top 15 either. Jeter is in the bottom half of these players.

Given a range of five spots on this list, Jeter is in the range of No. 18-22.

Among the Greatest Yankees in History

The New York Yankees are the most successful franchise in the history of sports, that's not debatable. Their 27 World Series titles put them 13 ahead of any other franchise. The Yankees are the best franchise in baseball, and they have had the best players in baseball as well.

Because Jeter has played every game of his career with the Yankees, it is only natural to want to know where he stands among the best players on the best team in the best sport (debatable, but still my opinion) in the world.

Jeter is the only Yankee in history to reach 3,000 hits with the team. Jeter is also approaching team records for games played and stolen bases.

Jeter is one of the best leaders the game of baseball has ever seen. He was made captain for the Yankees in 2003, making him the first captain since Don Mattingly in 1995.

Jeter has been incredibly consistent, batting .313, and making 12 All-Star Game appearances in 16 seasons (not counting 1995 when he played 15 games). He has won five Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. He was also Rookie of the Year in 1996.

Jeter's resume is impressive to say the least, but he is still not the greatest Yankee of all-time.

Jeter ranks behind Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle. Ruth is the best player in the history of the game. Gehrig is one of the all-time greats, and he could've been even better if he didn't have to cut his career short. Mantle is a three-time MVP, and he was a home run machine.

It has become a three-way fight for fourth on the all-time Yankees list. The fight consists of Jeter, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra.

DiMaggio did not even play for three of his best years because of WWII, yet he is still currently higher than Jeter. Jeter should give him a run for his money when The Captain has played a few more seasons, but he can't right now.

Berra was an amazing player, but this three-time MVP did not hit for contact nearly as well as Jeter does. He had more power, but not enough so to make up for about 30 points in batting average.

Jeter ranks fifth on the all-time Yankees list, just barely edging out Berra because of his 3,000 hits:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Lou Gehrig
3. Mickey Mantle
4. Joe DiMaggio
5. Derek Jeter
6. Yogi Berra

Among All-Time Batters

Derek Jeter is one of the best contact hitters of all-time, but he lacks the power to propel him to one of the top spots when it comes to the best batters of all-time.

Jeter is a .313 hitter for his career, with 3,000 hits, 237 home runs and 1,159 RBI. He has also scored 1,727 runs.

Jeter has an impressive track-record, but he falls well short of the top spot in this category. He is not in the top 10. Nor the top 25.

Jeter ranks among the top 50 for batters.

Jeter has hit very well for over a decade-and-a-half, yet he is not on the same level as many hitters. Jeter has to be somewhere behind Rod Carew and Johnny Mize, yet ahead of talented hitters like Jeff Bagwell and Robin Yount.

Given a range of 10 spots, Jeter belongs in the 36-45 range of the best batters in history.

Among All-Time Players

There have been roughly 17,000 players in MLB history. Of these 17,000 only a select few will be forever remembered. Derek Jeter is one of those select few.

I have discussed Derek Jeter's impressive stats many times over the past few slides, so there is no real need to delve into those again. Instead, it is the intangibles that set the best players apart from one another.

Of the top 200 or so players, each and every one of them have incredible attributes that show on paper, yet they are still separated into different tiers based on their fielding, leadership and other characteristics that cannot be measured.

Jeter has been an incredible fielder. He knows exactly where to be at all times and he demonstrated this with his legendary flip to Jorge Posada in the 2001 ALDS against Oakland. He has the athletic ability to make long throws even with his momentum taking him away from the base, as he has done many times. He also has the instinct to know where walls and obstacles are, often leaping over them.

Jeter is the best leader in the game today. He knows how to rally his teammates and spark them to victory. He can be inspirational when he wants and demanding if need be. When Jeter retires as a player, one can only hope that he will then become a manager.

Jeter has the intangibles to be considered one of the best players in the history of the game. This category includes both pitchers and fielders and with so many options to choose from, where does Jeter fit in?

Jeter has shown us that he is an amazing player, and he will go down in history as one of the best. The future Hall-of-Famer is going to be in the top 100, easily.

Jeter is currently ranked in the top 40-60 players in the history of the game. By the end of his career, Jeter could be looking toward the top 30.