Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Derek Jeter’s fifth World Series title is one for the aged.

At 35, the New York Yankees’ captain is the oldest starting shortstop to play for a Major League Baseball championship team since 1955, when 37-year-old Pee Wee Reese manned the position for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jeter and the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 last night to win their 27th World Series. The title comes 13 seasons after Jeter won his first ring at the age of 22, a testament to his durability while playing one of the most demanding positions in the sport.

“Just doing what he’s done in this market alone puts him in a whole different category than other players, especially other shortstops,” said Barry Larkin, a 12-time All-Star shortstop who’s now an analyst for the MLB Network. “When you’re on top of your game, you win consistently and you still have the desire to get better. That says it all.”

Only three shortstops started for World Series-winning teams after the age of 35 and they’re all in Baseball’s Hall of Fame: Reese, Phil Rizzuto for the 1953 Yankees and George Davis with the 1906 Chicago White Sox. The Yankees won the title 10 days after Rizzuto’s 37th birthday, while Davis was 36 years old for the White Sox.

Jeter is one of four Yankee players left from the teams that won four World Series titles from 1996-2000. The others are 39-year-old reliever Mariano Rivera, 37-year-old starting pitcher Andy Pettitte and 38-year-old catcher Jorge Posada, who started 111 of 162 regular-season games.

“It feels better than I remember,” Jeter said after being doused in celebratory champagne in the Yankees’ locker room. “It’s been a long time. I almost don’t want it to end.”

Rookie of Year

The Yankees’ first-round pick in the 1992 draft, Jeter collected the American League Rookie of the Year award four years later as New York won the World Series in his debut season in the majors.

Fellow shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was named the AL’s top rookie the following year for the Boston Red Sox, and the two All-Stars added another layer to the teams’ rivalry for the next six years. Now 36, Garciaparra has played an average of just 84.3 games over the past six seasons because of injuries.

Jeter has played at least 150 games each of the past six seasons, including 153 this year, when he hit .334 with 18 home runs, 66 runs batted in and 107 runs scored. In September, Jeter became the Yankees’ all-time hits leader, passing Lou Gehrig.

“Sometimes injuries are luck of the draw, but Derek is committed to being healthy and ready to play,” MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds said in an interview. “He’s very unique and that’s why he’s a Hall of Fame shortstop. Guys like that don’t come along very often.”

Jeter’s Postseason

Jeter entered this postseason with a .309 playoff batting average and continued that success to lead the Yankees to their first World Series title in nine years.

“He’s an amazing player,” said Yankees relief pitcher David Robertson, who was 10 years old when Jeter made his major- league debut. “It’s unreal that he’s been able to do it for so many years and he’s still just as good.”

Jeter hit a home run in the Yankees’ postseason opener against Minnesota and batted .400 in a first-round sweep of the Twins. He then had two homers and three RBI in the AL Championship Series win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Jeter reached base safely in all 15 games this postseason and scored at least one run in 11.

He went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in last night’s clincher, boosting his career average in seven World Series appearances to .321. It’s the fourth-highest among players with 100 or more at-bats, trailing Hall of Fame members Gehrig, Eddie Collins and Babe Ruth.

“I’ve known Derek since his first year and the No. 1 thing that separates him from any athlete that I’ve met at that level is winning,” Reynolds said. “He doesn’t care about anything else. He’s been the same since his rookie year to now. That’s why, at 35, he’s still driven, he’s still so competitive and he still wins.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski at Yankee Stadium in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 02:13 EST