WHY JORGE POSADA IS A THROWBACK

After my childhood hero Don Mattingly retired from the baseball and the New York Yankees, I was sad. He was everything you wanted in a baseball player. He had the sweetest swing in the world. He played a flawless 1st base. But more importantly, Mattingly had the heart of a lion and was a class act all the way. Mattingly was one of those Yankees who earned the respect of not only his teammates but by almost all of Major League Baseball. That's really hard to do especially when you wear the pinstripes. Once you put that Yankee uniform on, you automatically have a target on your back. But it was different with Don Mattingly. I think fans all around the country at all ballparks kind of saw Donnie as a throwback type player. Someone who could've played in the 1930's or the 1950's.

Those type of throwback players are hard to come by these days but there is one that immediately comes to my mind and I thank God he was a New York Yankee. I am talking about Jorge Posada. The first few years of his career I think Jorge flew under the radar, not just around MLB, but even among the fans in the Bronx. Jorge quietly was putting together great offensive numbers early on right alongside Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, to name a few, but the others stood out. Jorge usually wasn't the player you would see being interviewed after a Yankee win or plastered in the sports pages. He was becoming a quiet leader in that clubhouse and the glue that would hold together the great Yankee teams of the late 1990's and the 2000's. Make no mistake though, even if Jorge wasn't a household name to most fans early on in his career, opposing managers were taking notice because Jorge was becoming a great hitting catcher in baseball. In fact, one of the things I will always remember about Jorge is how he always seemed to be on base. Whether it was a walk or a hit Jorge found a way on base.Did you know...

• Posada won the AL Silver Slugging award for catchers 5 times! Not even Joe Mauer has accomplished that.
• Posada finished in the top ten in the AL for OBP 4 times. In fact, for his career, Posada is currently in the top 250 players for OBP. Think about that.

Posada is clearly a throwback as well and it goes back to the basics of his hitting; no batting gloves, for instance. Posada's not afraid to get muddy and he was always in the thick of it and always backed his team. I will never forget him coming to the defense of his Yankee team after the Pedro Martinez / Don Zimmer game. Come to think of it, that game alone could be considered a throwback of when the rivalry was true. Read HERE. That's pure guts... that's Jorge and not having him on the New York Yankees in 2012 will be a blow to Yankee pride. Sure, the Yankees pride will continue but it's that little extra glimmer of heart from Posada that will be gone from the clubhouse. It's sad, but it's baseball. I get it.

One day we will have a throwback again. Maybe it will be Jesus Montero, or someone else 15 years from now. Someone who is a quiet leader, who follows in the footsteps of Yogi Berra, or Don Mattingly or Jorge Posada. But for now, Jorge Posada is the most recent throwback the Yankees have molded and he will never be forgotten. Thanks for the great times Jorge.

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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