Jorge Posada’s name should be checked off all of the BBWAA members ballots this year. Posada played 17 years in the MLB, all for the New York Yankees as a catcher and was my favorite player to watch.
The Case:
His career average was .273 with 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs. His career Wins above Replacement (WAR) is 42.7. He is a 5x All-star and received 5 Silver Slugger awards. With the Yankees he played in the postseason 15 times and won 4 World Series rings.
In the Hall of Fame right now there are 15 catchers, their average WAR is 52.7, despite Posada being a full 10 wins below, he is still higher than Roy Campanella, Roger Bresnahan, and Rick Farell who are all in the Hall of Fame.
As far as home runs he is eighth all-time, and his .848 OPS is the highest out of any catcher that is not in the Hall of Fame. He also one of just 12 catchers all-time that has over 1,000 RBIs in their career, and has more doubles than Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Mike Piazza.
His postseason numbers are also stupendous among catchers. He has played in the second-most games, has the eighth-most runs scored, ninth-most RBIs, and sixth most total bases.
Above all Posada was an emotional leader and a strong member of the core four (Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte) that delivered 4 Championships and almost 2 decades of illustrious baseball to the New York Yankees. He played a total of 1,574 games (26th all-time).
He also displayed an uncanny ability in controlling pitching staffs. Some of these pitching staffs included greats like Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and many more. His grittiness and toughness behind the plate and at the plate will be something that no Yankee fan will ever forget.