Posada ready to hang them up

Jorge Posada is part of the Core Four which will now be down to two members.  Andy Pettitte was the first to retire before last season and now Jorge Posada is ready to make his announcement in the next two weeks according to reports.  Sweeny Murti was the first one to report this story as it broke on Saturday afternoon.  At first glance Posada doesn't seem like a Hall Of Famer but when you look deeper at the numbers he may have a case and I would say he is a borderline Hall of Famer much like Pettitte.  Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter are the two remaining members of the core four and they soon too will be leaving the field and going into the next portion of their life. 

Posada had a chance to sign with another team this year but I think he made the right choice.  He decided instead of hanging on for another year of diminished playing time he would retire a career Yankee.  This will also look better to the Hall Of Fame voting committee.  Posada had a lot of attributes mainly being the catcher on four World Championship teams.  He was considered a clutch player and the vocal leader of the team.  Jeter is the captain but Posada was always considered the fiery leader, the guy who would get in your face.  He wore his emotions on his sleeves and sometimes it boiled over. 

There are famous stories of him and El Duque Hernandez going at it.  It was mainly for Posada to motivate Hernandez though when the Yankees needed him most and it almost always worked.  Posada didn't always get along with pitchers, Randy Johnson didn't want anything to do with him and he wasn't the only one.  Posada though always worked hard and for a guy who came to the Yankees as a 28th round pick and a second baseman he made it work behind the plate. 

Posada was a very good switch hitting catcher and that was his strength.  He was never a strong defensive catcher but he did get better at it over time.  Posada for all of his defensive shortcomings didn't cost the Yankees as he was part of the four titles and an integral part as the catcher.  Posada got much better later in his career at throwing guys out trying to steal and blocking balls in the dirt.  Calling games I didn't have a huge problem with, it depended on the pitcher in that way, some had a problem and some worked well with him. 

Posada was born August 17, 1971 in Santurce, Puerto Rico.  He made his major league debut on September 4, 1995 in a 13-3 win over the Mariners at home.  Ironically the Yankees would take on those same Mariners in the playoffs that year and he would be along for the ride.  Posada played in nien games between 1995-96 and then in 1997 he became the full-time backup catcher to ironically again Joe Girardi who would become his manager in 2008.  He won his titles in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009.  He also appeared in the World Series in 2001 and 2003.  He was a five time all-star(2000-2003, 2007).  He was a five time Silver Slugger Award winner(2000-2003, 2007). 

Here are his career stats, he played in 1,829 games.  He had 1, 664 hits, 275 home runs, 1,065 RBI, 273 batting average.  In the postseason he played in 125 games, had 103 hits, 11 home runs, 42 RBI and a 248 batting average.  His fielding stats were he played 1, 574 games as a catcher and had 12, 877 innings.  He had 984 stolen bases against him, was caught stealing 387 times, had 696 assists and 90 errors.  His fielding percentage was 992. 

He will always be welcome back to Yankee stadium and as time goes on and eventually Jeter and Rivera retire these four, the Core Four will be recognized and celebrated for years to come.  I am sure Jorge won't be a stranger and he is very active in the Jorge Posada Foundation which supports and educates on Craniosynostosis which his son Jorge Jr. has.  I am sure Posada will be busy at home with his family who he has missed a lot of while playing and being on the road often.  It will be interesting to see how he is viewed in five years when he is first put on the ballot for the Hall of Fame.  He is worth putting in the discussion but if nothing else he will be remembered for being a great Yankee and a vocal leader of the latest dynasty.