YES Network.com

As he reached the All-Star break, the nominal midpoint of the season, Derek Jeter was continuing to add to his legacy, moving up the Yankees' all-time batting lists in several categories and adding to his Hall of Fame credentials.

At the break, Jeter was No. 14 on the Yankees' all-time list in games played with 1,606 (Mickey Mantle is No. 1 with 2,401), ninth in at-bats with 6,492 (Mantle, 8,102), fifth in runs scored with 1217 (Babe Ruth, 1,959), eighth in hits with 2,048 (Lou Gehrig, 2,721), tied for ninth in doubles with 327 (Gehrig, 535), 18th in home runs with 174 (Ruth, 659) 15th in RBI with 815 (Gehrig, 1,995), tied for fourth in stolen bases with 233 (Rickey Henderson, 349) and fifth in batting average with .315 (only Ruth, .349, Gehrig, .340, Earle Combs, .325, and Joe DiMaggio, are ahead of him).

It is not farfetched to project that when his career is over, Jeter will be No. 1 on the Yankees' all-time list in games played, at-bats, runs scored, stolen bases and hits.

One can make the case that this is Jeter's finest season of his 11 in pinstripes. While his home runs are down, he is on, or close, to a pace that could produce all-time bests in runs scored (134), hits (219), doubles (37), RBIs (102), and batting average (.349), all of which were accumulated in the 1999 season.

Jeter's place in Yankees' history is secure, and the Hall of Fame beckons. With 10 years of major league service, if he never plays another game (perish the thought; at 32, he has at least five more years at peak production), Jeter already has done enough to make his election a slam dunk.

Currently, there are 20 shortstops enshrined in Cooperstown (soon to be 21 when Cal Ripken, Jr., gets the call in a few months), and Jeter's numbers compare favorably with them all. He has more hits than Lou Boudreau, Travis Jackson and Phil Rizzuto, more home runs than Joe Cronin, Jackson, Honus Wagner and Arky Vaughn, more RBIs than Luis Aparicio, Boudreau and Davey Bancroft, and a higher batting average than Luke Appling, Cronin, Robin Yount, Ripken, and Pee Wee Reese.

This is how Jeter compared at the All-Star break with the game's greatest shortstops in four important offensive categories.

The numbers tell the story. Derek Jeter's ticket for admission to baseball's shrine has already been punched.