Yankee Legend Jorge Posada Announces Retirement

Backstop calls it quits after over 20 years in the organization.

After 17 seasons in pinstripes, New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada announced his retirement on Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

In an emotional press conference, the five-time All-Star backstop, with teammates Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera and Yankees GM Brian Cashman, among other team officials in the audience, gave thanks to everyone from minor league coaches to family for their support throughout his career.

“I will forever be a Yankee,” Posada said during the conference. Check out his announcement here.

The conference also saw a host of Posada's teammates share their thoughts on his career. Diana Munson, the wife of another legendary Yankee catcher, Thurman Munson, hugged Posada before she praised him for both his ability on the field and his compassion off it.

"He doesn't realize it, but he brought me back to baseball," she said. "After losing Thurman, I kind of lost my heart for baseball. He got me excited to read the box scores. that's unusual. The only box scores I used to read were Thurman's."

A member of four World Series championship teams, Posada was the Yanks' 24th round pick in 1990. He wasn’t a regular until 1998, when after nine seasons in the minors and various call-ups, he responded with 17 homers 68 RBI. From 2000-2003, he made four consecutive All-Star appearances and won four Silver Slugger awards, serving as an integral part of a Yankee team that won four championships the past 14 seasons.

Posada will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration in 2017. His name is already on the eligibility page on the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum web page. His 275 career home runs and 1,065 RBI are more than seven Hall of Fame catchers, including Roy Campanella and Mickey Cochrane.

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