Derek Jeter calls out the one writer who didn't vote for him during Hall of Fame speech
New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter is officially a baseball Hall of Famer. Jeter — along with Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker — were inducted into the Hall on Wednesday, a year after their original induction ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jeter's status as a Hall of Famer was never in doubt. The instant he retired, it was known Jeter would cruise into the Hall on the first ballot. The only question was whether Jeter would be the second player to receive 100 percent of the vote.
Jeter did make it in on the first ballot, but he wasn't a unanimous selection. Jeter received 99.7 percent of the vote. Of all the writers who voted, only one left Jeter off their ballot.
That still bothers Jeter, who made sure to call out the one voter who believed Jeter wasn't worthy of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jeter didn’t forget 😬 pic.twitter.com/txLt2ILCGA
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) September 8, 2021
The identity of that voter is not known. Baseball writers who are in the Baseball Writers' Association of America for 10 years earn the right to vote on the Baseball Hall of Fame. For many years, votes and ballots were kept private, but the writers now have the option to make their ballots public.
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Many do. When Jeter was elected to the Hall, over 315 writers went public with their ballots. There were 397 ballots submitted, meaning only a small portion of the voters opted to keep their ballots private. One of the anonymous voters kept Jeter off their ballot.
With the snub, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame to receive 100 percent of the vote.
Ted Simmons, Larry Walker delight fans during Hall of Fame ceremony
Jeter may have headlined the event, but Simmons and Walker received their fair share of praise and admiration from fans. On Simmons' end, people couldn't stop talking about his voice:
seems like ted simmons has a good voice pic.twitter.com/Ls23XRi5Yj
— Chork (@cdgoldstein) September 8, 2021
For Walker, it was his love of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Larry Walker making his love of Spongebob one of the most prominent parts of Hall-of-Fame induction is the crossover event and recurring bit that I never knew I needed pic.twitter.com/Ft26QbDoNq
— Joon 이준엽 (@joonlee) September 8, 2021
Marvin Miller died in 2012, and was inducted into the Hall on Wednesday by former MLBPA executive director Donald Fehr. Prior to his death, Miller asked to be taken off the Hall of Fame ballot. Though Miller's children didn't object to Miller getting inducted, they did not attend the Hall of Fame ceremony out of respect for their father's wishes. That's why he was inducted by Fehr.
In addition to Fehr's speech, Miller was honored by a number of MLB stars.
“The secret of the success of the MLBPA is not a secret. It’s the solidarity of the membership.” – Marvin Miller
#ThankYouMarvin #HOF2021 pic.twitter.com/t6sMi5DynO— MLBPA (@MLBPA) September 8, 2021