It’s been a while since I dipped into the scorebooks, so I thought it was a good time to do it again. Over the years I’ve seen lots and lots of Yankees games, so their players are often more fun than others. This time I decided to go with Jorge Posada.
I was never a big Posada fan, beyond the obvious reasons. It always bugged me that he was considered an all-star type catcher when the “catcher” portion was in name only. It always bugged me that he was the only catcher I saw throw the ball down when a 3-2 count with two outs and a man on first was called a ball. Most catchers would hold the ball in that case, knowing the runner could have second at that point. I always felt it was bush league to throw the ball down and try to trick the runner, and make him risk injury. I thought so even more after he tricked the umpire once into calling Manny Ramirez out.
I also found it annoying that he was called a “patient” hitter. He wasn’t patient, he just didn’t swing. There’s a difference. I always felt he just put the bat on his shoulder and was almost as likely to take a called third strike as a ball four.
So, do the games I was in the park for account for any of that bias?
Looks like it just might have.
Take a look at that BB/K ratio. While I was watching, Posada struck out almost twice as often as he walked. Sure, that resulted in a decent on base percentage. But, you get the impression that it had more to do with the pitchers missing their spots than anything he was doing. After all, he only hit .215. His .800 OPS wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire either.
So, I guess that’s where my impression of Posada was formed. Just watching the guy stand there, and then accomplish very little. No wonder Red Sox-Yankees games took forever.
At least while I was in the park.
How did Posada perform with you in the park?
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