Derek Jeter is among one of the most popular names in baseball to date. Even though many fans did not like the New York Yankees, Jeter was almost impossible to ignore in his golden years. A talent unlike any, he dedicated himself to baseball wholly. Rival teams treated him with begrudging respect while Yankees fans adored him openly. Everyone wanted to either be him or be friends with him.

Nine years into retirement, the Captain is still among the top favorite players. The legacy that Jeter has left behind is undoubtedly one for the history books, as is his jersey number. In the past, baseball greats have been treated with such reverence that their numbers have become synonymous with them. Jeter and his number two are equally popular and its likely fans will associate with each other till the end of time.

Derek Jeter universally owns the number 2

Mike Greenberg, an anchor for ESPN, is a renowned name in the sports commentating world. In fact, he recently wrote a book named Got Your Number that assigns “ownership” to the numbers 1-through-100. Written in collaboration with stats expert Paul Hembekides, they aim to give sports players due credit. One of them is, of course, Derek Jeter.

Greenberg recently explained why the former Yankees captain will forever own the number he wore on the back of his shirt during games. “At the start of 2022, Derek Jeter remained the most popular player in baseball, according to the ESPN Fan & Media intelligence group [seven] years after his last game,” the ESPN commentator said.

READ MORE – If He Had His Way, Derek Jeter Would Have Had the New York Yankees Retire a Different Jersey Number

He continued, “I can’t tell you when he clinched [No. 2], but I can tell you he was as easy a choice as any other number was.” The Hall of Famer is so universally liked that baseball fans will probably agree with Greenberg’s assessment!

The almost boring history behind Jeter’s uniform #2, which had nothing to do with his father

Fans of the former shortstop know that he wanted the number 13 to honor his father. But since that wasn’t available, Jeter had to make do with number 2. But interestingly, Jeter gave more background to the story.

On a recent episode of the Drink Champs podcast, the former Yankee said, “[They] just gave it to me, man. I think it was the smallest jersey. I really do…I just think No. 2 was — there’s all these rumors of why they gave me No. 2 — I just think No. 2 was the smallest jersey they had, man.”

WATCH THIS STORY: From Babe Ruth To Derek Jeter: New York Yankees Legends Who’s Jersey Number Has Been Retired

A rather anticlimactic end to a most riveting tale!