Everyone was sure Jeter was lock for Cooperstown, other than Jeter

phone call to something that is completely out of your control,” Jeter said. “And once you get the phone call, I don’t even know if I said anything for a while because it is the ultimate honor and it’s a very humbling experience and to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it’s truly a dream come true.”

With his name on 396 of 397 of the ballots cast by the voters from Baseball Writers Association of America, Jeter received the highest ever vote percentage for a position player (99.7%).

He, however, also fell one vote short of joining his former teammate Mariano Rivera as a unanimous selection. The former Yankees closer was elected with 100% of the vote last year, also his first year of eligibility.

Unlike most of baseball, which immediately went on a witch hunt, Jeter did not care about the one voter who omitted him.

While his former managers, teammates and Yankees executives all seemed to see Tuesday as a foregone conclusion, Jeter admitted there were times his confidence failed him. Early on, Jeter was not sure choosing the Yankees over going to the University of Michigan was the right decision.

“Man that first summer I was in Tampa in 1992, I was trying to make it to 1993. I’m being honest with you, you know, I remember staying at the Bay Harbor Inn and being out on the balcony crying at night because I was completely overwhelmed,” Jeter said. “I was completely overmatched and thought I had made a mistake, signing a professional contract. So at that point in time, getting to the Major Leagues was a long ways away. Thinking about the Hall of Fame never even crossed my mind. So, although it was a long time ago, it still feels like it was almost yesterday.”

It actually was a long, full and Hall of Fame career ago.

A 14-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner, Jeter is the 32nd player in baseball history to cross the 3,000-hit mark. His 3.465 hits are sixth all time in baseball and the most ever by a shortstop. Over 20 years in the big leagues, the captain hit .310/.377/.440 with 260 career home runs and 1,311 RBI.

A five-time World Series champion, Jeter had almost a season’s worth of postseason experience. He hit .308/.374/ .465 in 158 playoff games, hitting 20 homers and driving in 61 runs.

Those numbers should have been enough for Jeter to know that the Hall would be dialing his digits Tuesday night. Everyone else knew.

In 20 years in the big leagues, Derek Jeter was known for his uncanny knack for coming up with the clutch hit or the big play in the postseason. The former Yankees shortstop was also known for being able to deliver on the biggest stage in baseball, under the scrutiny of New York, and was lauded for his calm, cool demeanor in any situation.

That detached, inner-confidence abandoned Jeter Tuesday.

The Yankees’ last captain spent his day waiting for the call that seemingly everyone except he knew would be coming Tuesday night. Five years after he retired from the game, and the first year he was eligible, the former shortstop got the call to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“First of all, 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. I was nervous, sitting around waiting for a