It’s never easy to walk away from the game of baseball. It’s that much harder to do so when you have to leave behind a team and a city where you won five World Series titles.
On Tuesday, with tears in his eyes, New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada announced that he was retiring from the game he loved.
After a somewhat tumultuous 2011 season where Posada struggled with the decrease in playing time, it became apparent that the Yankees were not going to re-sign the 40-year-old. And although there were rumors that Posada would join another team, he already new that he was a Yankee for life.
“I knew in my heart and I knew in my head I didn’t want to play anymore. I quoted Joe DiMaggio’s (famous quote), ‘I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee,’ ” Posada recounted about how he entered Yankee Stadium each day with the same thought in his head.
Posada finished his impressive 17-year career with a .273 average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs in 1,829 games. Most of them were under manager Joe Torre, whom Posada called a “father” figure for him.
Posada also will join an elite group of players as one of only five catchers all-time with 1,500 hits, 350 doubles, 275 homers and 1,000 RBIs (Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Carlton Fisk and Ivan Rodriguez are the other four).
But what may be more impressive than his numbers and even his five World Series rings is the fact that Posada ends his career as the first catcher since Bench to play 17 consecutive seasons with the same team.
Although a trip to Cooperstown may not happen for Posada, a trip to Monument Park is almost a guarantee. The man personified what it meant to wear the pinstripes and he will be missed by the Yankee faithful.
photo credit: chris.ptacek
