Bleacher Creature Feature

#6: Jorgie Porgie

10 April 2002

After Munson's death, Lou Piniella took over as my favorite Yankee -- which is probably why I can't bring myself to dislike the current Seattle Mariners team all that much -- and a few others claimed my affections here and there: Andre Robertson (whose career was also cut short, in his case by a car accident that pretty much ended his effectiveness), Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte; Nick Johnson is rapidly endearing himself to me, too.

But since 1998, Jorge Posada has been my favorite player, and I have more enthusiasm for him than I've had for any single player since Thurman.

Maybe I have a thing for catchers. After all, they're, in many ways, the ones that run the game. They call the pitches, and some catchers have as much of an impact as the pitchers in how well a pitcher throws.

There's a lot to like about Posada. As a catcher, he's gone from being Joe Girardi's backup to a guy regularly praised by his pitchers. In fact, until Posada, I never recall hearing Roger Clemens ever praise his catchers.

Some not-very-scientific data points: Through 1999, Clemens and Andy Pettitte were always caught by Girardi. In 2000, Posada took over the near-full-time catching duties (he played 151 games, which is a lot for a catcher), which was the first time he caught either of those pitchers -- and, interestingly enough, both pitchers' games improved tremendously. The one pitcher Posada didn't catch in 2000 was David Cone -- who had the worst year of his career. Plus, of course, Posada caught David Wells' perfect game in '98....

True, almost anyone can catch the Yanks' pitching staff and look good, but when arguably the greatest pitcher of our age (if not any age) goes out of his way to praise your pitch selection, you're probably doing something right.

And while he doesn't get the same press for his offense that Derek Jeter or Bernie Williams (or Jason Giambi) get, Posada's been a critical part of the Yankee offensive machine for the last couple of years. In 1998 and '99, sharing the catching duties with Girardi, he hit .268/.350/.475 and .245/.341/.401, which was good. In 2000, Girardi was gone, and not even missed a little: Posada hit .287/.417/.527, as well as 28 home runs, 86 RBI, scored 92 runs, got 145 hits, and drew 107 walks. Baseball Prospectus 2001 declared him the best catcher in the AL in 2000 (in part because Ivan Rodriguez was out for much of the year, but, as they said, "Even with Ivan Rodriguez healthy, Posada shouldn't slip further than second"). Last year was only a mild downturn: he lost ten points on the BA, 44 points on the OBP, and 52 points on the SLG, and he was still the third most productive player on a 95-game winner, behind only Jeter and Williams.

This year appears to be more of the same. He is showing the selectivity at the plate that keeps his OBP up (it's at .441 through his first seven games), he's driving in runs, he's scoring runs, and he's been catching some damn fine pitching performances.

The contract signing that got all the press was Giambi's, with Steve Karsay's a distant second, but I think the absolute smartest deal the Yankees made all winter was signing Posada to a five-year contract. Posada started out as an infielder, and he didn't become an everyday catcher until he was 28, so it's quite possible that -- unlike most catchers -- he will continue to be effective into his thirties. And he's a good enough hitter that he should be helpful for duration of the contract. And, given that he is one of the three best catchers in baseball (behind only Pudge and Piazza), it makes sense for the Yankees to keep him around as long as they can.

Several BCFs ago, I said that Posada should be leading off. Having seen Alfonso Soriano play twice in person, and having seen several quotes from him about how he's determined to get on base more (from today's Daily News: "Without prompting from coaches, Soriano during spring training tried to be more selective"), I'm more sanguine about his new role as a leadoff hitter, though I'm still iffy on putting someone with a .304 OBP last year in the spot that requires your best on-base guy. (Of course, the Yankees' two best OBP guys are Giambi and Johnson, neither of whom are likely to be leading off.) He's already doubled his walk total from last April, and we're only ten days in.

But I still think that Posada would be a good choice. He gets on base a lot, he scores runs, and he's a canny baserunner. True, he's not much of a base stealing threat -- he's 6 for 11 in his career, stolen-base-wise -- but the stolen base has always been overrated as an offensive stat, and we're presently in an era when it's even less relevant. But it's not like he's hurting the team batting sixth, either...

All in all, though, he's a fantastic hitter, a fine catcher, a dedicated father (him holding his infant son at the 2001 All-Star Game during the national anthem was a great moment), and an all-around swell guy. Not only that, but he can wiggle his ears. What's not to like?

NEXT: Pitching Woo

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