Jorge Posada

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Jorge Posada

New York Yankees — No. 20
Catcher
Born: August 17, 1971 (1971-08-17) (age 36) Santurce, Puerto Rico
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 4, 1995 for the New York Yankees
Selected MLB statistics (through June 8, 2008)
Batting average	.277
Home Runs	220
Runs batted in	874
On-base plus slugging	.860
Teams
New York Yankees (1995-present)
Highlights and awards
All-Star and Silver Slugger (AL): (2000-2003, 2007)

Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1971 in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the New York Yankees. He is a switch hitter and has been to 6 All Star Games over his 12 year career. He is considered one of the best Yankees catchers ever, along with Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, and Thurman Munson.^{[citation needed]} He is the only Major League catcher to ever hit .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs and 85 RBIs in a single season. Posada and Yogi Berra are the only Yankees catchers to hit 30 home runs in a season. Since 2000, Posada has more runs batted in, by far, than any other catcher in baseball (603).

He was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 amateur draft, and made his major league debut in 1995.

[edit] High school & college

Posada attended the Alejandrino High School in San Juan, where he participated in basketball, volleyball, track, and baseball. As a baseball player in high school, he was named an All-Star player at shortstop in the 1988-89 season.

He went on to attend Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama in 1991, where he received an Associate Degree. He was the valedictorian of the class^{[citation needed]}. He was voted best hitter (1990), co-captain (1991), and selected all-conference (1991).

[edit] Baseball career

Posada was a second baseman during his first minor league season. Although his successful conversion from that position to catcher was unusual, the relationship between the positions is not unheard of, with future Hall-of-Fame second baseman Craig Biggio making the opposite switch. Posada survived a hideous home plate collision in 1994 in which he broke his left leg and dislocated his left ankle while playing for the AAA Columbus Clippers.

Since his debut with the Yankees, Posada has a career on base percentage of .379. His batting average, through 2006, was 39 points higher against righties than against lefties.^[1]

Posada has also been a member of 4 World Series championship teams ( 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000) and 6 American League championship teams ( 1996,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003). Posada is a 5-time All-Star (2000-03, 2007) and a 5-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award in those same years.

In 2000 he batted .287 and was 6th in the league in walks (107), 8th in on base percentage (.417), and 9th in intentional walks (10).

In 2001 he was 8th in the league in intentional walks (10).

In 2002 he was 7th in the league in doubles (40), and 10th in intentional walks (9). He also led the leagues in grounding into double plays (23).

Arguably, his best season to date was 2003, when he hit 30 home runs (1 every 16.0 at bats, 9th best in the league) and drove in 101 runs, both career highs. He batted .281 and was also 5th in the league in OBP (.405), and 6th in the league in walks (93; walking 17.5% of the time, a career high). He tied Yogi Berra’s record for most home runs by a Yankee catcher and finished third in the MVP voting.

In 2004 he was 3rd in the league in walks (88), and 4th in OBP (.400). He also led the leagues in grounding into double plays (24).

In 2005, he suffered a down year, causing some skeptics to think that his career was almost over.

However, in 2006, he had a bounce back year, posting one of his best offensive seasons. Among other things, he led the major leagues with 20 pinch hits.^[2] In addition, work with new first base coach Tony Peña, a former catcher, helped him improve his percentage of runners thrown out stealing second almost 60 points above his career average.

On the final day of the 2007 regular season, Yankees manager Joe Torre allowed Posada to act as the manager for the game^[3], an honor that Torre bestows upon a veteran player if the final game does not matter in the standings. The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-4 to give Posada his first managerial win.

A .270 career hitter entering the 2007 season, Posada finished at .338, with 20 home runs, 90 RBIs, and career highs in hits (171) and doubles (42). He joined Iván Rodríguez as the only two catchers in MLB history to record at least 40 doubles in two separate seasons. He was 3rd in the AL in on-base percentage (.426), 4th in batting average, 6th in OPS (.970), and 8th in doubles and slugging percentage (.543). Posada batted .395 in September, and became the first Yankee catcher since Thurman Munson, in 1978, to finish among the top 10 AL batting leaders. His longest hitless streak was only 11 at-bats. Posada is the first catcher to hit .330 or better with a slugging percentage of at least .540 and an on-base percentage of at least .420 since Mike Piazza in 1996-97.

On November 2, 2007, Posada openly backed new Yankee manager, Joe Girardi, after reports claimed that he would have a difficult time playing under Girardi.

On November 12, 2007, Posada signed a 4 year, $52 million contract to remain with the Yankees.^[4]

On April 27, 2008, Posada was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career after getting a strained shoulder. He was examined by Dr. James Andrews, who reports that his shoulder injury does not appear to be season-ending. No timetable has been established for Posada's return, though he is eligible to return from the disabled list in two weeks.^[5] He began practing again in June, playing games in the Minor Leagues.^[6]

[edit] Awards

• 1993 - Carolina League All-Star C
• 1995 - International League All-Star C
• 1996 - International League All-Star C
• 2000 - AL Silver Slugger Award C
• 2000 - AL All-Star
• 2000 - Thurman Munson Award received for baseball accomplishments and philanthropic work
• 2001 - AL Silver Slugger Award C
• 2001 - AL All-Star
• 2001 - Milton Richman "You Gotta' Have Heart" Award received from the NY Chapter of the BBWAA
• 2002 - Baseball America First-Team Major League All-Star C
• 2002 - AL Silver Slugger Award C
• 2002 - All-Star
• 2003 - NY Yankees Player of the Year
• 2003 - AL Silver Slugger Award C
• 2003 - AL MVP Voting Rank: # 3
• 2003 - AL All-Star
• 2003 - Named one of the Diamond Dads Founding Fathers
• 2007- AL All-Star
• 2007- Roberto Clemente Award Nominee
• 2007 - AL Silver Slugger Award C

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Family

• On January 21, 2000, Jorge married Laura Posada, an attorney and former model and actress from Puerto Rico.
• Son Jorge Posada Jr. suffers from craniosynostosis, which he was diagnosed with 10 days after he was born, and has endured numerous surgeries to correct the condition. Posada established the Jorge Posada Foundation to help find a cure for the disease and support families with children affected by the condition. Jorge released a charity wine in 2008 called Jorge Cabernet to raise funds for his foundation. Jorge and Laura also have a daughter without the condition, Paulina (born 7/15/02).
• His father, also named Jorge Posada, is Cuban, and is a scout for the Colorado Rockies. His mother is Dominican.

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• The Jorge Posada Foundation