On Tuesday, iconic shortstop Derek Jeter . He and Larry Walker were voted into Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers A sociation of America. , he fell one vote short of being the second unanimous selection in Hall of Fame Billy Price Jersey history. He instead finished with merely the second-highest voting percentage ever. Here are the highest Hall of Fame voting tallies:Mariano Rivera (2019): 100.0 percentDerek Jeter (2020): 99.75 percentKen Griffey Jr. (2016): 99.32 percentTom Seaver (1992): 98.84 percentNolan Ryan (1999): 98.79 percentIn a sport that isn't all that great at marketing its superstars, Jeter was arguably the most popular player of his generation, a transcendent star who even non-baseball fans knew by name. He was the face of the game's marquee franchise for two decades and his on-field accomplishments were historic.Here are five reasons Jeter should have been the second unanimous Hall of Famer in history. 1. He's one of the best shortstops everSimply put, Jeter is one of the best to ever play the game at one of the most demanding positions on the field. His defense was not good, we all know that, but he was such a great offensive performer relative to his position that he still ranks sixth among shortstops in career WAR.Here's the shortstop WAR leaderboard (min. 75 percent of career games at short):Cal Ripken Jr.: 95.9 WAROzzie Smith: 76.9 WARBill Dahlen: 75.4 WARLuke Appling: 74.5 WARArky Vaughan: 72.9 WARDerek Jeter: 72.4 WARRipken and Smith are the only players ahead of Jeter who started their careers after World War II. Drop the minimum to 50 percent of career games at shortstop, and Jeter is still ninth on the leaderboard. Slice and dice it anyway you want, and Jeter is still a top-10 shortstop all-time.Jeter made his debut in 1995 but did not begin his big-league career in earnest until 1996. From 1996 through his final season in 2014, Jeter authored a .310/.378/.440 batting line in over Jeff Driskel Jersey 12,500 plate appearances. The average shortstop hit .266/.322/.391 from 1996-2014. He's one of the top hitting shortstops in history (min. 8,000 plate appearances): Joe Cronin: 119 OPS+Barry Larkin: 116 OPS+Derek Jeter: 115 OPS+Luke Appling: 113 OPS+Cal Ripken Jr.: 112 OPS+OPS+ is adjusted for era and ballpark, among other things, so it's telling us Jeter was 15 percent better than the league average hitter during his career. That makes him one of the best hitting shortstops ever. As poorly as he rated defensively, Jeter was one of the greatest offensive forces Kevin Huber Jersey in baseball history at one of the most demanding positions in the game.2. He's sixth all-time in hitsThis is something that will never look out of place on a Hall of Fame plaque. Jeter retired with 3,465 career hits, the sixth most in history and the third most among players who started their career after World War II.Here is the all-time hits leaderboard:Pete Rose: 4,256 hitsTy Cobb: 4,189 hitsHank Aaron: 3,771 hitsStan Musial: 3,630 hitsTris Speaker: 3,514 hitsDerek Jeter: 3,465 hitsInjuries sabotaged Jeter's 2013 season -- he was limited to 17 games by ankle problems -- and, if he'd stayed healthy, he very likely would've finished fifth all-time in hits and po sibly even fourth. The hit total speaks to Jeter's talent and also his longevity. Only three times in his 19 full seasons did he fail to play 145 games, and he is tenth all-time in plate appearances. 3. He was excellent in OctoberWhen the lights were brightest and the pre sure most intense, Jeter thrived. He's a career .308/.374/.465 hitter in 158 postseason games, closely mirroring his .310/.377/.440 regular season batting line, which is impre sive. Not only is there increased pre A.J. Hawk Jersey sure, but you're also facing the best pitchers on the best teams in the game in October. And yet, Jeter thrived.Many of Jeter's greatest highlights came in the postseason. ? Jeter made that play in a game the Yankees won 1-0 on the road while facing elimination. There was also the Mr. November walk-off homer in the 2001 World Series: Jeter is the all-time leader in postseason games played (by 33) and plate appearances (by 185), so he had ample opportunity to perform in October, and perform he did. Jeter is the all-time postseason leader in hits (200), runs (111), and total bases (302). He was excellent during the regular season and at his best in October. 4. He has a squeaky clean imagePerhaps Jeter's most impre sive accomplishment was playing his entire career in New York and never once getting caught up in controversy. He had famous girlfriends, sure, but there were no Page Six exploits, no off-the-field shenanigans that soured his reputation, nothing. Jeter was never tied to performance-enhancing drugs or any other cheating scandal as well. Ryan Glasgow Jersey His image is as clean as it gets. Jeter holds up under the most intense scrutiny.5. Because he should be a Hall of FamerUnanimous or not, every Hall of Famer winds up in the same place. There is no distinction between first-ballot Hall of Famers and everyone else and no distinction between unanimous Hall of Famers and everyone else. Once you're in, you're a Hall of Famer, and everyone in Cooperstown is on even ground. Jeter's career so obviously warrants induction and thus everyone should vote for him. There's no need to be mindful of unanimity, and it seems the voting body is coming around on that point of view.