After 17 Years of Service, Yankee’s Catcher Jorge Posada Calls it Quits
By JOSHUA NATOLI
Staff Writer
I remember those days as a kid when my father and I would watch the Yankees in what seemed to be every World Series in the late 90’s. I can still name off nearly the entire roster. On that roster were four players that have stood out almost a decade later, known as the “Core Four”.
Those players were Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada. In 2011, that number went down to three, and last Tuesday it has become two. Jorge Posada formally announced his retirement last week at Yankee Stadium, leaving his legacy with his team forever.
Posada was drafted by the Yankees in 1990 and, after a stint in the minor leagues, became backup catcher to Joe Girardi, who later became his manager, in 1997. Since then, Posada won four World Series championships with the Yankees in 1998, 1999, 2000, and most recently in 2009.
Posada had his best year in 2003 when he finished third in the American League MVP voting with a .281 batting average, 30 home runs, and 101 runs batted in. He was also a five-time MLB All-Star. Posada did more in his 17 years than just fill up the stat sheet; he also was major piece that held the clubhouse together. Being a part of the “Core Four” meant Posada also played teacher for younger players and newcomers.
With Posada aging, and the acquisition of Russell Martin in the offseason, the Yankees could only fit Posada in sparingly. After a very dissatisfying 2011 season occasionally showing up in the designated hitter slot, Posada felt it was ready to call it quits saying, “I knew in my heart and I knew in my head I didn’t want to play anymore.” Ending on such a sad and hurtful note has to be upsetting but looking back at what Posada has done is enough to make even the gloomiest man smile.
Posada is a pretty solid choice to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The career numbers do not stand out but the rings and All-Star selections do. But Posada’s legacy will forever remain in the Bronx with the only team he has ever known and the fans who have adored him for almost two decades.
The Yankees have a section of their stadium called Monument Park where players are immortalized forever in Yankee history with guys like Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. I have no doubt in my mind Posada will be enshrined there with his number, 20, retired. It is where he deserves to go, and I’m sure if he had to pick between Monument Park and the Hall of Fame he would pick Monument Park any day.
With Pettitte and Posada both now in the Yankees past, the “Core Four” has come down to the “True Two” with Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. But just how long can the Yankees keep relying on two of the greatest players in the history of baseball?
Mariano Rivera turned 42 this November and his entering his final contract year. Rivera proved he still had his stuff last season topping that cutter fastball of his out at 91 miles per hour, but how much does he have left to give?
Derek Jeter has still been a worthy shortstop for the Yankees but nowhere close to how he used to be. Unlike Rivera, Jeter still has time on his Yankee clock and will most likely play for five more years if the Yankees will be willing to bring him back.
Posada’s time has come and gone, but his Yankee pride will live on in the locker room and the clubhouse for years and years to come. Maybe Yankee fans will have the pleasure to see him play in the Old Timer’s Game sometime soon at Yankee Stadium, and chant “hip-hip Jorge!” one more time.
