New York Yankees: Derek Jeter’s Number to Be Retired May 2017

The New York Yankees have announced that they will retire the famous #2 of longtime shortstop and captain Derek Jeter on May 14, 2017.

Derek Jeter‘s eventual number retirement by the New York Yankees was about as certain a thing could be in the baseball world. It was simply a matter of when, not if. Well, now we know when the Yankees will honor their former captain and immortalize his iconic pinstriped #2.

The team has announced that it will hold a ceremony retiring Jeter’s number and dedicating to him a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park on Sunday, May 14, 2017.

The Mother’s Day event will occur before the team’s matchup against the Houston Astros in the Bronx.

At this point, you don’t even need to be much of a baseball fan to know the name Derek Jeter and have some sense of his accomplishments. The shortstop won five World Series championships with the Yankees over the course of his 20-year big league career. He was honored as the AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, recognized as an All-Star 14 times, named both the All-Star Game and World Series MVP in 2000, and won five Gold Glove awards. In 2003, owner George Steinbrenner named him the 13th captain in Yankees history.

Jeter led the major leagues in hits twice during his career, the first time in 1999 and again in 2012 at the age of 38. A remarkably durable player through the bulk of his career, he averaged 151 games played from 1996 to 2012. Injuries limited him to just 17 games in 2013, but he managed to return for his swan song the following year and play in 145 contests.

The final years of Jeter’s career were distinguished by his quest for 3,000 hits. After reaching the milestone on July 9, 2011 (with a home run off David Price, no less), it became a question of just how high up the all-time hits ladder he’d climb. Though losing nearly the entire 2013 campaign did him no favors, he finished with 3,465 hits, good for sixth on the all-time list. Only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Tris Speaker have more. Not bad company.

Jeter has kept busy since his retirement two years ago. He established The Players’ Tribune, an online media platform that allows professional athletes to speak directly to fans in their own words through articles and essays. He also continues to lead his Turn 2 Foundation, which encourages young people to embrace healthy lifestyles.

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The Yankees far outpace any other MLB franchise in terms of retired numbers, but the last few years have featured a plethora of ceremonies as the club begins to honor members of the recent 90s dynasty era. (Hey, a little attendance incentive never hurt anybody.) In 2013 they officially retired Mariano Rivera‘s #42 to mark the end of the longtime closer’s career, though the number had been retired throughout the league since 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson. They retired former manager Joe Torre‘s #6 the following year, and in 2015 they added Jorge Posada‘s #20, Andy Pettitte‘s #46 and Bernie Williams‘ #51.

Plaques were also dedicated for all the aforementioned figures, along with Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neill, former second baseman and coach Willie Randolph, and former pitcher and coach Mel Stottlemyre. Jeter will join his former teammates and coaches in Monument Park next May, and it’s fair to assume that many of them will be in attendance for the ceremony.

Next: Is Jorge Posada a Hall of Famer?

Next up on Jeter’s career honors checklist is Cooperstown. He will be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2020, and his election is seen as a virtual lock on the first ballot.