Known for two decades as No. 2, Derek Jeter is now linked to the number 1—as in, who was the lone Hall of Fame voter who didn't put a check mark next to his name? Jeter came within one vote of being a unanimous pick on Tuesday, falling just shy of the standard set when longtime New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous selection last year, the AP reports. For now, the identity and motivation of the non-conformist remains a mystery. "Well, I look at all the votes that I got," Jeter says. "Trying to get that many people to agree on something is pretty difficult to do. So that's not something that's on mind." Jeter, longtime shortstop and captain of the Yankees, appeared on 396 of 397 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
His 99.7% moved him above Ken Griffey Jr. (99.3%) for the second-highest share. "Everyone told me it was a foregone conclusion. I didn't buy it. So it was not a relaxing day. There was a lot of anxiety,'' Jeter says. Canadian right fielder Larry Walker, in his 10th and final appearance on the ballot, got 304 votes, six above the 75% needed and up from 54.6% last year. Pitcher Curt Schilling was third with 278 votes (70%) in his eighth ballot appearance, an increase from 60.9% but still 20 votes shy. Jeter and Walker will be inducted on July 26 at the Hall in Cooperstown along with catcher Ted Simmons and former players’ association head Marvin Miller, who were voted in last month by the Hall’s Modern Era Committee.
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