The 2011 season appeared to have been the last for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, as Sweeny Murti is reporting that Posada will officially retire within the next few weeks.
While acting primarily as a designated hitter and bench player, Posada hit .235 with 14 home runs and 44 RBI in 387 at-bats during the 2011 season.
This is certainly not surprising news. Posada has battled injuries for each of the last four seasons, only reaching 120 games played once in that stretch. At this point, his value in the field is nothing more than that of an emergency first baseman or catcher.
If he even wanted to play, he would only be a truly valuable player in the American League as a designated hitter.
Given his age (40) and the abuse to the body that catchers always take, it certainly makes sense that the market would be thin on him. Long gone are the days when Posada was reliable to hit 20 or more home runs and drive in 90 runs.
In addition to being the smart, logical decision, this is also refreshing to see. We too often see athletes who no longer have the ability to be elite hang on for a year or two too long. A case can be made that Posada did that, but he was always in a Yankees uniform. We don’t often see players like this play their entire career with one team.
Along with Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, Posada was one of the “Core Four” Yankees that won five World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. He finishes his career as a five-time World Series champion with a career average of .273, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI.
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