Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, but he’s hoping his iconic former teammate Derek Jeter will become the second.
Rivera, honored at Yankee Stadium Saturday for his induction, voiced his wish to see Jeter follow him into the Hall of Fame with the same amount of support.
“If it was me, it would be 1,000 percent. Forget about 100 percent,” Rivera said, via Howie Kussoy of the New York Post. “I played with Derek for so many years, and seeing him day in and day out, and seeing the way he played the game and respected the game, I don’t see why not. Obviously I don’t vote, but I don’t see why not.”
Jeter is more or less a sure bet to be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer when he becomes eligible for the first time as a potential member of the Class of 2020. Given how hard it’s been to get anyone voted in unanimously, that would be more of an uphill battle. Jeter has a chance, though — he’s one of the most popular players of his generation and is under no suspicion of PED use. That doesn’t mean there won’t be controversy, though.
