BEING HONORED MAKES JORGE'S CAREER COMPLETE

 

Joe Torre is going to honor Jorge Posada at the Joe Torre Safe at Home Gala on Nov 15. He deserves it and I'm thrilled that Jorge is getting his. According to the Gala's website:

"The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foun­da­tion is excited to announce that our Annual Gala will be held on Thurs­day, Novem­ber 14th at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in Man­hat­tan. We invite you to join celebri­ties, sports stars, phil­an­thropists, and indus­try lead­ers in hon­or­ing for­mer New York Yan­kees All-Star and four-time World Series Cham­pion, Jorge Posada."

I speak fondly of Jorge Posada. I love his grit. There is something to be said about a man with a passion for what he loves to do. When that passion truly runs deep, you know it. I knew it throughout Jorge's career, but it became crystal clear to me when I watched his emotional internal struggle in the days leading up to the end of his career in pinstripes.

It sounds ridiculous and I never want to sound creepy in my posts, but there was a realness about Jorge's emotion struggle and we all saw it. This wasn't for show, it was truth. The man saw the decline, the end and I felt it for him. We all have been there or will be at some points in our life. When the playoffs ended in 2011, Jorge cried.

He did, many of us did, but Jorge's season ended there and it wasn't the way he wanted to go out. He wanted to win it all. That's a warrior!  It's never easy to fight so hard for so long and just turn it off. Jorge was pretty much forced to. But what happened next helped him stay strong. His family unit is massive, supportive and the transition was probably difficult, but comforting at the same time. While not on the field anymore... he was home!

We have honored Jorge here at BYB for a long time now. We love the guy. He should be honored. He's done great things in his career. My favorite moment is obviously his game tying double in the 2003 ALCS and I needed to ask Laura about it, from a spouse perspective. She was opened about it saying:

Laura Posada: Yes, I was right there and that was an Epic moment!  Getting a hit off Pedro in 2003 was not an easy task and due to the history of "love" between them, it just made it a little sweeter!  As a spectator, you could feel the electricity in your body when he got that double.

I was proud that night. Many were, but knowing that we know about Jorge, the struggles, the criticism, it went full circle that night. The player he wanted to be had arrived. That was big and I'll never forget it.

I have mentioned before just how often I see that same killer instinct in my own son, my oldest. My son will stare out on the field after a strikeout like Jorge, thinking through his at bat, over and over and over again trying to figure out why he swung when he shouldn't have and why he didn't crush the ball. His wheels turn. It's passion for the game, but it scares the hell out of me because I know he wants it so badly.  My son is not the best, but he believes he is... much like Jorge Posada. That's half the battle in this great game. The second half is not wanting to quit when everyone around you is either telling you that you "can't" or they're just having a better game than you. It's brutal. But the difference is the passion. My son has it, it's intense... and so does Jorge.

Jorge is getting honored by Joe Torre and it's terrific. That's the reason for this post. Hey, I'd love a ticket! I'd love to be there for a guy I truly admire. But even if I can't be there, the party still goes on and should. Jorge deserves it!

We'll fill you in once it happens. Hey, maybe we can get some insight from Laura or someone that was there. I'm just so happy Jorge is getting his! 

Congrats Jorge, enjoy yourself. That night, you get a night off from "grinding it." RELAX for once in your life... It's OK pal, you earned it!

Oh... and by the way. I said that being honored makes his career complete. Yes, this Safe at Home foundation honor is wonderful. But the biggest honor of all? Retiring #20.  Are you listening Yanks?

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