the very first player i saw the very first time i stepped in to the metrodome was derek jeter. that was in 1998, and i saw him in minnesota a few times after that, too. he is in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:
that is a 2017 topps archives 2015 topps high tek buyback autograph card, numbered 05/10. here's the back:
i had missed out on seeing jeter and the yankees in california before i moved to minnesota (i had my company's tickets to a game but wound up having to work late - the irony), so it wasn't until may 8, 1998 that i got to see the bronx bombers play in person. it was a friday night game at the dome, and i remember how fake everything seemed. from the astroturf to the light that filtered in through the roof of the dome, and later the light from the lights hung above the field. was this really major league baseball?
anyway, jeter was doing his pregame warmups as i walked down the stairs from the concourse and i was immediately reminded that it was indeed major league baseball being played inside this wretched place. he went 1 for 4 that night with an rbi that broke a tie in the 7th inning. clutch.
a year later, i was back to see jeter and the yankees again. this time (it was thursday may 6, 1999 and my first day game at the dome) the venue seemed even more surreal thanks to the emptiness of the dome and the sunlight filtered by the roof. jeter had three hits but didn't figure in the scoring as the yankees won in 10.
that was the last time i saw him play in person as he was injured the next time i saw the yankees in april of 2003, sat out the game i went to on august 13, 2008, and had yet to return to the field the last time i saw the yankees during his career on july 4, 2013. of course, i had plenty of opportunity to see jeter play on tv and witness plays like "the flip", the jeffrey maier home run, the "mr. november" home run, and many other highlights.
one memory that stands out comes from 2003: a coworker and i went to a bar after work to watch game 7 of the alcs between the yankees and red sox. we were both hoping that the red sox would knock off the yankees, and it was looking pretty good with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the red sox holding to a 3 run lead. up came jeter, and he hit a double off of pedro martinez. the next thing we knew, jeter had started a game tying rally and people were left wondering why pedro had been left in the game. clutch.
i was a fan of nomar's, but i respected jeter's talent. however you define it, jeter was clutch.
here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:
christy mathewson - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts baseball chronology relic
babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425
honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic
nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75
eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99
rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99
mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99
paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic
hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph
jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic
ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000
roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic
stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph
yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000
sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000
roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic
warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic
ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph
al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250
bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32
frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph
juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph
don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs
harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic
lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61
willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50
ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43
jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000
billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199
willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25
red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549
carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey
jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3
hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph
tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50
reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60 steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45
mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147
nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33
larry doby - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph
nolan ryan - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59
kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph
dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350
ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autographgary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collectioneddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50
dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99
paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125
wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49
ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50
bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autographroberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autographron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autographtom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70
craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333
randy johnson - 2019 topps tek high tek autograph
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50
tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95
vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
chipper jones - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 11/60
jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1
jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45
alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23edgar martinez - 2017 topps tribute walk off autograph 17/50
derek jeter - 2017 topps archives 2015 topps high tek buyback autograph 05/10
ted simmons - 2013 panini golden age historic signatures
larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature
joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card
pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25
barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
rafael palmeiro* - 2016 topps tribute rightful recognition autograph 98/99
alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph
david ortiz* - 2017 topps clearly authentic autograph 02/25
adrian beltre* - 2019 topps tier one talent autograph 56/70
ichiro* - 2019 topps museum collection archival autograph 02/25
albert pujols* - 2003 topps autograph
miguel cabrera* - 2020 topps chrome black autograph
clayton kershaw* - 2015 topps museum collection archival autographs 43/99
mike trout* - 2016 topps strata autograph green 71/75
steve garvey* - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
dale murphy* - 2015 topps tribute foundations of greatness autograph 27/89
dave parker* - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats autograph buyback 42/61
joe mauer* - 2020 topps archives signature series 2015 topps triple threads buyback autograph 1/1
*not currently in the hall of fame
you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.