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Longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada officially announced his retirement on Tuesday
Jorge Posada is the second of the core four to retire from Major League Baseball in what is the beginning of the end for a special era in New York Yankees baseball history. With the news of his retirement the question has been asked by some: is Jorge Posada a Hall of Fame player?
Certainly the offensive numbers make an argument that he may be.
His career numbers are very impressive for a catcher.
| G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB |
|---|
| 1829 | 7150 | 6092 | 900 | 1664 | 379 | 10 | 275 | 1065 | 20 | 21 | 936 | 1453 | .273 | .374 | .474 | .848 | 121 | 2888 |
And his 162-game averages aren't any less impressive:
| 162 | 633 | 540 | 80 | 147 | 34 | 1 | 24 | 94 | 2 | 2 | 83 | 129 | .273 | .374 | .474 | .848 | 121 | 256 |
Posada's numbers will dwarf those of many catchers you will find in previous eras that have been included in the Hall of Fame. There is also no denying what his presence has meant to the Yankees during his illustrious career, and there are too many clutch hits Posada has had to recount them. But is that enough for the Hall of Fame?
No, not to me. He was a great Yankee, but he's not a Hall of Famer. Unlike many, my first inkling about whether or not a player is Hall of Fame worthy does not have anything to do with numbers. It's a feel. Does a player feel like a Hall of Famer?
To very loosely paraphrase a Supreme Court justice on a different subject: I can't define what a Hall of Famer is, but I know it when I see it.
I, for one, believe too many players have been included into the Hall of Fame and that it should be a much more exclusive club than it currently is, I think there is validity to the argument that Posada is a Hall of Famer, but to me he was never, not once, the best player on his team in any given year. Posada was in a lineup that was filled with All-Stars and future Hall of Famers and so he benefited from never having to carry the full load of his team. That's not an absolute measuring stick, but it's a big strike.
The next measuring stick I use for Hall of Fame worthiness is his ability compared to the other players of his position in his career. Here, Posada measures up fairly well. He's long been a terrific hitter, but there was really only a solid four-year stretch where he was ever at the very top of his position. Between 2000 and 2004 Posada won four straight Silver Slugger awards and had four All-Star Game appearances. Very impressive, but not Hall of Fame worthy.
Posada only finished in the top 10 of MVP voting twice, and never higher than third. His Hall of Fame statistics are close to Hall of Fame worthy with his Hall of Fame Monitor number a 98 (likely Hall of Famer is 100) and his Hall of Fame standards a 40 (average HOFer is 50), but they don't quite cut it.
Another reason I don't think Posada is a Hall of Famer is because of his average defense. I am not one who thinks Jeff Kent should be a Hall of Famer. Yes he's a great hitting second basemen, but Kent didn't play enough defense to be a second basemen in my mind. Posada's defense improved throughout his career, but he was never a terrific defensive catcher or game manager at a position where I personally believe defense to be imperative.
But lastly, it really just comes down to knowing it when I see it. And in my heart of hearts Posada doesn't scream Hall of Famer to me, though I'll always appreciate his contributions to the New York Yankees and to many of my favorite childhood baseball memories.
New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada will officially announce his retirement from baseball on Tuesday, according to various published reports. The team has scheduled an 11 a.m. ET news conference.
Posada, 40, hit .273 with 275 homers and 1,065 RBIs for his career. He also helped the Yankees win five World Series titles, hitting .248 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs in 416 postseason at-bats.
His 125 playoff games are second all-time and he caught the third-most games in team history (1,574), behind only Bill Dickey (1,708) and Yogi Berra (1,695). Posada is a five-time American League All-Star.
Posada is the latest of the Yankees tied to the great era of the late 1990s to retire, following Andy Pettitte. Only Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera remain from those teams.
Posada had been rumored to have sought backup roles with a few teams this off-season, with no takers. There was also some thought he might try to return when the Yankees traded Jesus Montero, but that will not be the case.
New York Yankees beat reporter Sweeny Murti tweeted that long-time Yankee, Jorge Posada, will officially announce his retirement in the next few weeks.
Jorge Posada will announce his retirement within the next two weeks, per source.
The 40 year old catcher has been with the Yankees since 1995 and has won five World Series. Last season he batted a career low .235 with 14 home runs, which is his lowest output since 1999. Posada's offensive decline has not been a product of him swinging and missing – as is the case in aging players most times. As a matter of fact, last season he swung and missed only 7.4 percent of the time – lower than his 8.3 career average. The problem with Posada is he's not making good contact anymore. His line drive percentage was a career low 16.7 percent last season – down from his 20 percent career average.
This opens the door for stud offensive prospect Jesus Montero to fully develop as a catcher.
![Mark Munoz. Photo by Josh Hedges via Zuffa LLC/Getty Images. [via cdn2.sbnation.com]](http://cdn0.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/4116810/uvs3_10_munoz_vs_dollaway_003_large_large_small.jpg)
Jorge Posada Retirement: 'I Will Forever Be A Yankee'
New York Yankee catcher Jorge Posada said his final farewells Tuesday, as he held his official retirement press conference inside the Yankee Stadium media room. The press conference was an emotional one for the long-time Yankee, who spent 17 seasons and won five World Series Championships in pinstripes.
The hour-long press conference covered a variety of facets of Posada's career as a Yankee, which featured him being drafted in 1990 as a second baseman, his arrival in the majors in '95, being the behind the plate during David Wells' perfect game in '98 and winning a World Series in '99. All four events Posada listed as his top experiences in New York.
When asked about why he decided to retire, Posada answered honestly.
In attendance at the announcement were Yankee shortstop and captain Derek Jeter, closer Mariano Rivera, who Posada called, "my brother," and former New York manger Joe Torre, who Posada thanked "for being a father for all those years."
Also making an appearance and speaking was Diana Munson, wife of former Yankee catcher Thurman Munson who died in a plane crash in 1979, who admitted that after the passing of her husband it was tough to watch baseball. However, Posada was the one Yankee player who, "made me love the game again."
Munson mentioned that she thought Thurman and Posada would have been "best buds".
Related: Is Posada A Hall Of Famer?
Posada was also asked about his plans after baseball but he couldn't give a clear answer on that.
"I want to enjoy a summer and just see what comes my way," said Posada who mentioned that he received phone calls from the YES, ESPN and MLB Network, but says he doesn't see himself behind a mike.
Posada, 40, ended his career as hitting .273 with 275 homers and 1,065 RBIs. He also batted .248 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs in 416 postseason at-bats.
His 125 playoff games are second all-time and he caught the third-most games in team history (1,574), behind only Bill Dickey (1,708) and Yogi Berra (1,695). Posada is a five-time American League All-Star.
Posada is the latest of the Yankees tied to the great era of the late 1990s to retire, following Andy Pettitte. Only Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera remain from those teams.
Fore more on the retirement of Posada, check out the SB Nation blog Pinstripe Alley.
Jan 24 12:20p by Jared Smith