AROUND THE HORN

Hall of Fame: Longtime Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday in Cooperstown, New York, along with fellow class of 2020 members Ted Simmons, Larry Walker, and the late Marvin Miller, whose efforts on the labor front changed the game. Last year’s ceremony was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nobody was selected from this year’s writers’ ballot and the Hall of Fame’s Era committees postponed their scheduled elections until the upcoming offseason because of the pandemic. “As strange as this sounds or may sound, I’m trying not to think about it,” the 47-yearold Jeter, now an owner and CEO of the Marlins, said last week. “I just want to go there and experience it.” In 2007, the inductions of Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn drew an estimated record crowd of 82,000. When the wildly popular Jeter was elected in January 2020 that record figured to be in jeopardy because fans had been booking reservations well in advance. With a mid-week ceremony instead of the traditional Sunday afternoon, school back in session and the threat of inclement weather the Hall of Fame wasn’t offering an attendance prediction. The deaths of eight Hall of Famers over the last year and a half, including Hank Aaron and Yankees star Whitey Ford, and the lingering pandemic have limited the number of returning Hall of Famers to 31. Two years ago a record 58 showed up. Jeter was the 57th player elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on the first try. He was one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous pick, named on 396 of the 397 votes cast. His former Yankees teammate, ace reliever Mariano Rivera, remains the only one. Simmons, 72, was a star catcher and first baseman in the 1970s and 1980s for the Cardinals and Brewers. Walker, 54, won the NL MVP in 1997 and three batting titles during a long tenure with the Rockies. The fivetime All-Star who began his career with the Expos will join Ferguson Jenkins as the only Canadian-born players in the Hall of Fame. Donald Fehr, executive director of the MLB Players Association from 1983-2009 and now in the same role with the NHL, will accept Miller’s plaque.

Mets: Jacob deGrom’s right elbow is healthy, but the team is uncertain if he will return this season, Mets President Sandy Alderson announced. DeGrom, 32, a two-time NL Cy Young winner, hasn’t pitched since July 7 because of a sprained elbow. He’s 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA and 146 strikeouts.

Yankees: RHP Gerrit Cole exited his start against the Blue Jays with two outs in the fourth with tightness in his left hamstring. The Yankees ace was pulled after allowing a sac fly to Reese McGuire. Cole, 30, allowed three runs, two of them earned, and five hits in 3 innings. He threw 70 pitches as the Jays put together several lengthy at-bats against him. Cole struck out two, tying the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler for the MLB lead with 217. Cole entered the game with a 14-6 record

and a 2.73 ERA. He was 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA in four starts since missing time following a positive test for COVID-19 and struck out 15 in seven innings Wednesday against the Angels.