It’s time to pull out the obligatory gift bag and send you on your way Derek Jeter.  It was fun while it lasted, but you clearly don’t belong.   At least not in the conversation that people have been putting you in since you announced that you would retire.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe Derek Jeter has had a remarkable and no doubt Hall of Fame career.  That is not the purpose of this piece.  The conversation of which Jeter does not belong is on the Mt. Rushmore of Yankee greats.

We have to remember what we’re working with here.   We are not talking about the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays or the Colorado Rockies.  Jeter would be front and center on the Mt. Rushmore of all of those teams.

But when it comes to the Yankees, he’s not even close.  For those who think otherwise, it’s time to get some historical perspective.

Somewhere along the way, fans have forgotten about the remarkable history that is the New York Yankees.  To win all of those championships, you must have had some remarkable players.  Even for the most novice of baseball fans, coming up with 4 players who rank above Derek Jeter in the Yankees organization is not difficult to do.

When I first heard the argument that Jeter should be on Mount Rushmore I scoffed, then I laughed, and finally I got a little angry.  How would any knowledgeable Yankee fan or baseball fan for that matter,  think that Derek Jeter was better than the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle or even Yogi Berra.   That notion is just absurd to me; but then again that is coming from the mind of a baseball history buff.

So for those of you who believe that Derek Jeter is on the Mount Rushmore of the Yankees organization I would like enlighten you just a bit on who is ahead of him.

Babe Ruth: Ruth played 2,084 games over 15 seasons with the Yankees and proved himself as one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived.  During that time, he led the league in runs scored eight times, home runs 12 times, RBI’s six times and walks 11 times while batting .349.

He finished with his Yankees’ career with  2,518 hits, 424 doubles, 106 triples,  659 home runs,1,978 RBI’s and 1,852 walks for an on base percentage of .484.  He won four World Series rings with the Yankees.

Lou Gehrig: Gehrig played all 2164 games of his major league career with the Yankees.  The “Iron Horse” led the league in runs four times, home runs three times, RBI’s five times and won the Triple Crown in 1934.  He won the MVP twice, while finishing in the top five of the voting six other times.

For his career, Gehrig  batted .340 with 2,721 hits, 534 doubles, 163 triples, 493 home runs, 1,992 RBI’s and 1,508 walks for an on base percentage of .447.  He won six World Series rings.

Joe DiMaggio: DiMaggio played all 1,736 games over 13 years as a member of the Yankees.  He was an All-Star every year of his career and was top ten in MVP voting in 10 seasons while winning the award three times. “Joltin Joe” led the league in home runs, RBI’s and Batting average twice each.

For his career, “the Yankee Clipper” batted .325 with 2,214 hits, 389 doubles, 131 triples, 361 home runs, 1,537 RBI’s and 790 walks for an on-base percentage of .398. He won nine World Series rings in ten tries.

Just imagine how much more DiMaggio would have done, had he not missed three full seasons due to military service right in the prime of his career.

Mick Mantle: Mantle played all 2,401 games over 18 years as a member of the Yankees.  He was a 16-time All-Star who finished in the top five of MVP voting nine years while winning the award three times.  Mantle led the league in runs scored five times, home runs four times, and walks five times while winning the Triple Crown in 1956.

For his career, Mantle batted .298 with 2,415 hits, 344 doubles, 72 triples, 536 home runs, 1,509 RBI’s and 1,733 walks for an on-base percentage of .421.  He won seven World Series rings.

Yogi Berra: Berra played all but four of his 2,120 major league games as a member of the Yankees.  He was a 15-time All-Star who finish in the top five MVP voting in seven straight year while winning three times.

For his career, Berra batted .285 with 2,148 hits, 321 doubles, 49 triples, 358 home runs, 1,430 RBI’s and 704 walks for an on-base percentage of .348.  He won 10 World Series rings.

Those of the five field players that are easily ahead of Jeter in my mind.  The Yankees have also had great pitchers like Whitey Ford and Mariano Rivera that deserve an argument, but comparing pitchers to hitters is a rather difficult process.  And that’s not even counting guys like Dave Winfield and Reggie Jackson who were great Yankees for a portion of their careers.

Jeter is a great player, who will go down as one of the Yankee greats of all-time, but putting him on the Mt. Rushmore for such an amazing organization is somewhere he doesn’t deserve to be.