Jeter just has to be willing and able to play as much as Rose did going forward. Jeter needs only 72 hits in the first 78 games of 2013 to be ahead of Rose as of their respective 39th birthdays.

Rose played until he was nearly 45 1/2 years of age, however, and for Jeter to catch Rose he'd need probably need to play to the same age, which would mean 7 more seasons. Rose's numbers his final 6 seasons were pretty dismal (.261 BA, .315 SA, 5 total home runs), and I'm guessing Jeter wouldn't hang around if his stats were that poor, but who knows. One thing Jeter has going for him that Rose didn't is the availability of the DH. I can't see Jeter ever being a full-time DH, but I could see him playing Short for 2-3 more years while DHing twice a week, then playing First for a few seasons while DHing 2-3 times a week. If he stays healthy enough to do that while hitting .280+, then he has a shot at passing Rose.