Hip Hip Jorge: Posada a Hall of Famer in My Book

With tear-filled eyes, Jorge Posada announced his retirement from baseball. Posada finished a 17-year-career playing only for the New York Yankees. He said that everyday, "I quoted Joe DiMaggio's (famous quote), 'I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee.'" An emotional Posada thanked his teammates, especially his best friend Derek Jeter, who he said encouraged him when he needed it. He also thanked his wife, Laura, who he called his "rock."

The debate is now whether or not Posada is a Hall of Famer. Posada is one of only five catchers all-time with at least 1,500 hits, 350 doubles, 275 home runs, and 1,000 RBIs. When compared to all the current Hall of Fame catchers, only Yogi Berra had better numbers than Posada in all three major offensive categories (average, home runs, and RBIs).

Jorge Posada won five World Championship while with the Yankees. He will be remembered by his play on the field, but also by his great character and charisma off of it. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, said of Posada, "Jorge Posada is a great Yankee and a great New Yorker. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I congradulate him on his outstanding career and thank him for the invaluable contributions he's made to our city." In my opinion, Posada deserves a place in Cooperstown. No matter what, his tribute was a fitting farewell to what is yet another storied career in New York Yankee history.

SportsCenter video with clip from Posada's emotional announcement: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7498012

Posada's famous This is SportsCenter advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeNM8RNbYTU