If I had to describe Jorge Posada‘s 2011 season in a word, I don’t think a word would do. Instead, I’d settle for an onomatopoeia: Ugh. Just like there was little to say about Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano because their seasons were so good, there is little to say about Jorge Posada because his season was just so disappointing.
The whole picture is just ugly. A .235/.315/.398 slash line with a .309 wOBA and an 89 wRC+ leading to a -0.4 fWAR mark. His walk rate was good at 10.1% and his Iso wasn’t horrible at .163, but we’re really just grasping for straws there.
Breaking things down doesn’t help either. Posada’s season was made up of four sub-replacement level months (April: .264 wOBA/58 wRC+; May: .291/76; July: .239/41; and September: .284/72), one fantastic month (June: .426/168), and one slightly-better-than-average month (August: .346/114).
Let’s just acknowledge the platoon splits, because any discussion of Jorge Posada’s season needs to include them. Posada was just fine against righties this year, posting a .353/118 split against them. Lefties, however, just destroyed Posada. He wOBA’d .131 against them, leading to a -33 (!!!) wRC+ against southpaws. Oy.
But, 2011 did end on a high note for Jorge. He went 6-14 (.429) with 4 walks (.579 OBP) in the ALDS against the Tigers and was one of the few bats to show up consistently. We’ll always have this ALDS, Jorge, to remind us of how great you were. And ultimately, that’s what I’m going to remember about Jorge Posada. This year was awful for him, but my memories of him will be nothing but good. Hell, one of my favorite memories of the 2011 season involves Jorge. Back in August, yours truly, Larry, MJR, and readers Rich, David, and Bex were at a bar in the city, watching a game in which Jorge hit a grand slam. We went nuts. Went wild. We screamed “Not dead yet!” over and over again. It was great and it’s what I’ll always think of when I ponder on Posada in the future. If you’ve read my writing over the last few years, you know that I think Posada has been supremely underrated and belongs in Cooperstown when the time comes. I loved watching you play, Jorge. It didn’t end exactly the way we wanted it to, but thank you for being a wonderful hitter and a great competitor over the years.
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3 Responses to Story of a Season: Jorge Posada
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While Jorge may still have something left in the tank, especially as a LH hitting DH, I hope he calls it a career and finishes as a Yankee. I wouldn’t want to see him in any other uniform. Whenever he retires, I think this will hurt more than Bernie Williams’ retirement did with me (although Don Mattingly’s retirement hurt me the most). Maybe it’s a signal of our own aging (I’m older than all of them), or the passing of a period in time where the Yankees were just great. Either way, I’ll miss seeing Jorge playing for the Yankees. It was great to have him for so long.
Ha, watching that Posada granny against the Rays together was definitely my favorite Jorge moment of the year.
HASH TAG NOT DEAD YET