Jorge Posada Intends To Retire.

News came this week that longtime Yankees catcher, Jorge Posada, intends to retire from Major League Baseball after his prosperous 17-year career with New York. Being a Mets fan for my entire life and living in New York, I had the displeasure of seeing a lot of Posada, whether it was burning the Mets in the annual Subway Series, and then in the playoffs every year during the Yankee dynasty.

So, it was safe to say that I hated Posada when he was a player, mostly because he was a fantastic player and could do a little bit of everything; he could hit for power, hit in the clutch, call a solid ballgame, and manage a pitching staff. The Yankee catcher is now the second player of the core four New York players that brought greatness and championships back to the Bronx Bombers. First it was Andy Pettitte, and now the departure of Posada leaves only Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera left from the late-90s dynasty.

In addition to his four World Series rings, he was also selected to five All-Star games and won five Silver Slugger awards. He was a career .273 hitter, accumulating 275 home runs, 1,065 RBI, and his .992 fielding percentage ranks 45th among active catchers. Also, I feel that most Yankee fans can attest to the fact that he was one of the more passionate players to don pinstripes, which is why it was so hard for him to transition from an everyday player to a bench player.

There were some rumors at the beginning of the winter that linked Posada to the Marlins or Rays because he lives in south Florida, but those rumors have obviously subsided now that he is close to retirement. I’m glad that didn’t try to latch on with another team because he is now able to leave the game on his own terms.

Plus, whatever time he spent with another team would be forgotten anyways because he had so many good years with the Yankees. Does anyone remember Michael Jordan’s years with the Washington Wizards? Not really, because he wasn’t a Wizard, he was a Chicago Bull, duh. Now, that’s a drastic comparison because Posada wasn’t the best player in the game, but if I had the opportunity to have him on my team, I would in a heartbeat because the man is a winner. I wish Jorge and his family all the best as he embarks on a new chapter of his life.