Derek Jeter: Yankees Release Video Tribute on Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Day

Derek Jeter, considered one of the best baseball players of all time, will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, on Wednesday

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AP Photo/Pool, Kathy Willens.

Seven years after Derek Jeter hit a walk-off single to win the last MLB game of his 20-year career, the legendary New York Yankees player is headed to his new home in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 47-year-old former shortstop will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Wednesday after COVID-19 restrictions postponed the ceremony last year.

"As strange as this sounds or may sound, I'm trying not to think about it," Jeter said last week, according to the Associated Press. "I just want to go there and experience it. I'm trying to keep it out of my mind because I do want to go in there with no preconceived notions of what may happen."

"I want to experience it and try to enjoy it. It's been a long time coming," he added.

The Hall of Fame event — taking place in Cooperstown, New York — is headlined by Jeter and Colorado Rockies star Larry Walker. They are joined by former St. Louis Cardinals player Ted Simmons and late former labor leader Marvin Miller, who are also inducted.

On Wednesday morning, the Yankees released a video tribute to Jeter that showcased some of the many highlights from his career.

"That kid was our Captain," actor Billy Crystal said in the five-minute video.

"He did it the right way, he did it the Yankee way," Crystal said.

Derek Jeter
Elsa/Getty Images

Jeter — a five-time World Series champion — was elected to the Hall of Fame in January 2020, receiving 396 votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. That kept him one vote shy of becoming the second player in history to be voted in unanimously. That honor still belongs to former Yankees player Mariano Rivera.

Being a Yankee, Jeter said of the only MLB team he ever played for, was one of the most important aspects of his career.

"The most important thing during my career, what I wanted to be remembered as, I wanted to be remembered as a Yankee. That was it," Jeter told the AP. "That was the only team I ever wanted to play for since as far back as I could remember. As you start playing your career you start thinking about legacy. It's much more than what you do on the field. It's the legacy you leave off the field."

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"I never wanted my career to be over and then for me to say, 'Well, I wish I would have done a little bit more.' Ultimately, you're judged, especially in New York, by winning," he continued. "They remember you if you win."

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