COMMENTARY | It is an end of an era in New York Yankees baseball. Jorge Posada held a 11 a.m. ET news conference on from Yankee Stadium on Tuesday to announce his retirement. Jorge Posada has been a fixture behind home plate for the New York Yankees over the last 17 years. He teamed up with fellow lifetime Yankees Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter helping to bring home five World Series championships.
Posada is a five-time all star. Never known as a great defensive catcher, Jorge did his damage with his bat. He won the Silver Slugger award as the best hitting catcher in the American League five times. Posada will end his career with 275 home runs ranking him eighth all time among catchers. He is fifth all time among catchers in OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage), putting him above all time greats Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench. His lifetime batting average has dropped a little bit due to his struggles at the plate the last few years, but he is still in the top 25 among catchers with a very respectable .273 mark. Posada ranks second all time in playoff games played with 125 and he has caught more games as a catcher than anyone in history.
The writing has been on the wall for quite some time for Posada. The signing of Russell Martin last year moved Posada from behind the plate and into the designated hitter role for the Yankees. The team told him that he was no longer a viable option catching games behind the plate. After a poor showing with the bat, Posada was benched by manager Joe Girardi in August 2011. His time with the Yankees was basically over after the call up of super prospect Jesus Montero. Posada was platooned for the last month of the season having only 30 at bats in September and hitting a subpar .200 in those at bats.
Jorge will be remembered as a long time Yankee great who always came through in the clutch. Usually batting in the lower third of the lineup, Jorge was representative of the depth of Yankees lineups that put fear into pitchers over the last 17 years. Choosing to retire rather than switch teams and diminish his legacy as a lifelong Yankee is refreshing in this day and age.