Which Former Yankees Will Be Elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017?

Jorge Posada

This may be sacrilege among the faithful, but I don’t think Jorge Posada belongs in the Hall of Fame. Yes, he’s one of the legendary Core Four and has enough World Series rings to fill up a hand, but the truth is he was a flawed player who didn’t establish himself as a full-time regular until age 26. He’ll get enough support to stick around for a while, but ultimately he doesn’t have a serious chance to get in.

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After taking over the reins as the Yankees sole starting catcher in 2000, Posada established himself as one of the best offensive backstops of the next decade, making five All-Star squads, winning five Silver Slugger awards, and garnering significant support for American League MVP in 2003 and 2007.

Among the 14 Hall of Famers who played 50% or more of their games behind the plate, Posada’s 42.7 WAR and 121 OPS+ would both rank 10th. While that shows his career is at least comparable to some of the guys already in the Hall, most of the guys he beats out played prior to World War II. Right or wrong, the standards for getting in are higher now, and while he’s in the ballpark, he doesn’t compare favorably to his more modern peers like Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez.

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Even if his offensive numbers did make him Hall worthy, Posada would probably fall short because of his reputation as a weak defender. He was regularly among the league leaders in passed balls because of his poor blocking, feuded with several of the notable pitchers on his staff over the years, and was in the top five in the AL of stolen bases allowed as a catcher for 11 years running from 1999 to 2010 because of his weak throwing arm.