On Sunday, it’ll be Andy Pettitte’s turn to be feted.
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For that passion and effort, the Yankees on Saturday before their 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians retired Posada’s No. 20 and unveiled a plaque in Monument Park honouring his 17-year career – all in navy pinstripes – in which he was a key part of four World Series championships. Yankee fans were calling for the veteran to be demoted to the bullpen or even cut from the team and bought out of his current contract. “That’s a lot of good baseball – that was the biggest thing I remember, the amount of how many good baseball players were on each side”. Former teammates, coaches and other guests will be involved with the festivities. The player whose No. 23 is retired certainly doesn’t. Rivera’s number was retired in 2013, and Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill have also been given plaques.
And in my opinion, Pettitte deserves the honor, but Posada doesn’t. The two became a tandem in the lowest levels of the minor leagues.
I don’t know if Posada will ever get into the Hall of Fame, he’s a borderline candidate, but he is going into Monument Park this afternoon. He was only the second Yankee catcher, after the legendary Yogi Berra, to hit 30 home runs in one season. No doubt he made a stupid mistake for a guy that appears to have a head on his shoulders. 273 batting average, collected 1,065 RBIs and 275 Home Runs during a stellar career.
But Girardi said this week he had no issues with Posada.
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“We played them 19 times a year”, Francona said. “It was great to see every day”.
