New York Yankees DH Jorge Posada

When we take a look back at Jorge Posada’s career, we think All-Star. Yes, Jorge Posada was an All-Star in his 15 years as a New York Yankee, when he first came up on the scene as a backup catcher to now manager Joe Girardi to being a DH in his final year in a Yankees uniform. Jorge has always given the fans something to cheer about. Well, we can say that the 2011 season has been…eventful for Jorge Posada, but it wasn’t exactly how he pictured spending his final year in pinstripes.

In the 2010 offseason Jorge was told that he was no longer the Yankees catcher and he was their new DH. Of course as you can imagine, Jorge Posada had a tough time putting it together. Also during the first Yankees vs. Red Sox showdown at Yankee Stadium, the news wasn’t about the Yankees; it was about Jorge.  Jorge had pulled himself out of the lineup that day after it was told he was going to bat 9th. Of course everyone moved on and Jorge never fussed about it again.

In 2011, it was easily Jorge’s worst year as a Yankee with a .235 AVG, but his power numbers were somewhat there. Posada had 14 HR’s, 44 RBI’s, and 14 2B (he had one 3B but that was during the 2011 postseason). Even though Jorge’s numbers weren’t great, it was easy to forget because Posada had energy in every at-bat that he produced. There was one game that I will never forget with Jorge Posada and it will still be one of my favorite games for a long time. On August 13 (on my birthday) I went to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees play. If I had known that Jorge Posada was going to have a 6 RBI day with a Grand Slam I would have paid extra just to watch! But just watching Jorge cap that 6 RBI day in person was magical and I’m glad that it was Jorge out of all the Yankees that did it.

When it was time for the Yankees postseason, only three Yankees stood out from the rest. Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and of course, Jorge Posada. During the postseason, Posada had a .429 AVG while capping a triple. Pretty fantastic huh? I guess that was Jorge Posada’s way of saying, “Hold on, I’m not done yet!”

If that was Jorge Posada’s last year as a Yankee, he has done nothing but make the Yankee name proud for the last 15 years. It was an ultimate pleasure to watch Posada play the game like a ballplayer should. I kind of wished that Posada would come back 1 more year, but that would sound a bit greedy. I guess Posada learned in the final game of the 2011 season was that everyone still loves him and the fans are going to miss yelling, “Hip, Hip! Jorge!” I know I will. So I will end this by saying, thank you Jorge for the memories, we love you and good luck to what the future brings you!