MLB

Ranking Derek Jeter's 5 Best MLB Seasons

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid May 15th, 2017
The Captain was brilliant year in and year out, but which five of his seasons stood out the most?

In 2014, Derek Jeter decided to hang up his glove, file away his bat, and closet his cleats for good. After 20 winning seasons in the Majors, Jeter rode off into the sunset, towards the Hall of Fame.

2020 will mark Jeter's first year of eligibility for the Hall. However, the New York Yankees couldn't wait to acknowledge the greatness of their long-time star:


Three years removed from his final at-bat, Jeter's number 2 was enshrined alongside the numbers of numerous other Yankees greats. And it's only a matter of time until we see him join his peers at baseball's ultimate destination: Cooperstown.

That being said, if we were to present Cooperstown with Jeter's five best years, how could we narrow it down?

FanGraphs' wins above replacement (WAR) helps us to do so with ease. This WAR allows us to look at a player's overall contributions for a season in just one number. It might not be a perfect metric, but it is an effective estimate of a player's value. Also, according to FanGraphs, a WAR between 5 and 6 signifies a superstar season and a WAR of 6-plus constitutes an MVP-caliber campaign.

For Jeter, his five best seasons separate themselves from the other 15. In each of them, he posted a WAR of at least 5.2 while in no other season did he have one north of 4.7.

So without further ado, here are The Captain's five greatest seasons.

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