BASEBALL'S NEXT JETER... BUSTER POSEY

Joel Sherman's piece in the New York Post, As Jeter exits, the possible new face of baseball wears a mask,is provocative and interesting and before you start yelling at the BYB pages that "There is no next Jeter", you need to understand what Sherman is saying.  He's not replacing the great Derek Jeter, he's merely suggesting that leadership brings championships, and a young Buster Posey reminds him of a young Derek Jeter; A player who's contributes with leadership, class and talent, to an already talented club and with continued trips to the fall classic.

Sherman writes: " Shouldn’t Buster Posey be the face of this game? Is there anyone more — forgive the term — Jeter-ian than him? Excellence at a prime position plus humility times championship should equal face of the game, right? The Giants catcher has those Jeter qualities that were always hard to quantify — poise, positivity, good teammate, etc...

The Giants won in 2010 when Posey was the Rookie of the Year, just as Jeter was Rookie of the Year in 1996 when the Yanks started their dynasty. Posey missed most of the next season after fracturing his fibula in a home-plate collision with the Marlins’ Scott Cousins, an injury that was the touchstone moment that led to the new blocking home-plate rules this year. 

In 2012, he won the MVP and the Giants won it all, again. Three titles in your first five years may not be as good as four in the first five like Jeter, but it is impressive nevertheless and Posey goes for it beginning with World Series Game 1 Tuesday against the Royals."

There are comparisons, but here's my only 2 cents on this, and this is me being a New Yorker, and, mind you, my oldest son loves Buster Posey.  Is Posey as big as Jeter was? Can he be? Sure... but nationally known, on the baseball scale where kids worship their players... are kids really walking around America in #28?  We'll have to see.

Sherman writes a terrific piece here, and something people really need to think about when you talk about strong role models and leaders.  If the Giants beat the Royals in this World Series, Sherman's piece becomes much more important.  If they don't... it may just be a provocative column to read and then place in recycling. 

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