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| Posada is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate and one of the greatest hitting catchers in history. |
After months of speculation about his future, it has been reported rather than put on a different uniform for the first time in his career, Posada will indeed announce his retirement in the coming weeks.
Posada, 40, was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 amateur draft as a second baseman, but made the transition to catcher, a decision he wouldn't regret. The Puerto Rican native made his Major League debut on Sept. 4, 1995 and made the postseason roster, where he appeared in one game as a pinch-runner.
The following year, the switch-hitting catcher appeared briefly during the 1996 season, but did not participate in New York's first World Series run, starting in the mid-1990s.
After serving as current-New York manager Joe Girardi's backup in 1997, Posada became a fixture and invaluable member in the Yankee lineup in 1998.
That season Posada was on the receiving end of the fifteenth perfect game in Major League history, catching lefty David Wells' perfecto on May 17. He batted .268 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs that season, playing in a 100-plus games for the first time in his career.
That was the year New York won their first of three consecutive World Series titles with Posada behind the dish.
In 2001, Posada was the recipient of Derek Jeter's incredibly famous flip play that prevented the tying run from scoring in Game 3 of the ALDS with New York facing elimination and a 2-0 series deficit. However, it was Posada's fifth inning home run off future Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito that gave his team the lead and enabled them to win, 1-0, and eventually make their fourth straight Fall Classic appearance.
The Yankee backstop would finished third in the American League Most Valuable Player voting in 2003 after batting .283 and setting career-highs in home runs (30) and RBIs (101).
Posada's best year came at the young age of 35. In 2007, he batted .338 and set a career-high with 171 hits. He was rewarded with a four-year $52.4 million contract extension, but missed most of the final season at the Old Yankee Stadium after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in July.
In 2009, Posada got his last taste as a champion. In the team's 15 postseason games that season, Posada batted .260 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. Both of Posada's home runs either tied the game or gave New York the lead.
The following year he became the first Yankee in history to hit back-to-back grand slams on consecutive days since another New York catching great, Bill Dickey, did so in 1937.
A month later he knocked in the 1,000 run of his career, becoming one of five catchers in Major League history to total 200 home runs, 300 doubles, 1,000 RBIs and 1,500 hits from behind the plates.
After being stripped of his catching duties prior to the start of this past season and moved to a full-time designated hitter role, Posada's season was full of controversy. After getting off to a slow start, Posada pulled himself out of the starting lineup in a Sunday night game at Fenway Park after being dropped to ninth in the batting order.
He and Yankee brass would settle their differences and move forward, knowing they needed one another.
Posada's season highlight came on Sept. 21, 2011 when he was called upon to pinch-hit, in a tie game with the bases-loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning. The longtime catcher delivered a two-run single, capturing the franchise's seventeenth AL East title. After finishing the year with a .235 batting average, 14 home runs and 44 RBIs, he enjoyed one of his greatest postseason series of his career.
In New York's five-game first-round series with the Detroit Tigers, Posada batted .429 with an on-base percentage of .579. Following the team's Game 5 loss, Posada was asked about his future, where he began to tear up and had to step away from his locker.
He finishes his career as a .273 career hitter, .374 on-base percentage, with 275 home runs, 1,065 RBI and 1,664 hits.
A 5-time All-Star, Silver Slugger and World Series champion, Posada leaves New York as one of the most successful offensive players in franchise history, ranking in the top ten of numerous categories. He ranks 10th in total bases (2,888), ninth in extra-base hits (664), 8th in home runs and games players (1,829), 7th in doubles (379) and 4th in intentional walks (78).
His 1,574 career games behind the plate ranks him third in franchise history behind Dickey's 1709 and Yogi Berra's 1692. But his 119 postseason games behind the plate rank first all-time.
One of the proudest Yankees in history, Posada was a leader throughout his 17-year career and considered it a privilege, honor and a huge responsibility to catch for the New York Yankees.
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