November 5, 1996
The New York Yankees had just beaten the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series. A young shortstop by the name of Derek Jeter had five hits in the series and scored five runs. Just over a week after the Yankees won Game 6, Jeter was named the American League Rookie of the Year.
Jeter was the first rookie shortstop to start for the Yankees on opening day since 1962, and he hit a home run and made some good plays in the field that day. He hit .314 in his rookie campaign, with 10 home runs and 78 RBI. Jeter was a key component in getting the Yankees to the playoffs and winning their first World Series since 1978.
Jeter would go on to appear in 14 All-Star Games, win five Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger awards. He was the All-Star MVP and the World Series MVP in 2000. In 2011, he became the first player to amass 3,000 hits as a Yankee, and he finished his career with 3,465. His entire 20-year career was spent in Yankee pinstripes.
All of this almost did not happen. Before his rookie season, the front office was not sure of what they had in Jeter. They almost pulled the trigger on a trade that would have brought in Felix Fermin from Seattle for Mariano Rivera. Luckily for the Yankees, they did not make that change, and the rest is history.
A history that included American League Rookie of the Year honors being bestowed upon a young shortstop wearing Yankee pinstripes on this day in 1996.
Birthdays
1952 – Bill Walton
1970 – Javier Lopez
1973 – Alexei Yashin
1973 – Johnny Damon
1974 – Jerry Stackhouse