Remembering Yankees of the Past: Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte, left handed starting pitcher, was drafted in the 22nd round in the 1990 First Year Player Draft by the New York Yankees out of his high school in Deer Park, Texas. Andy did not sign with the Yankees that season and instead decided he would go to a junior college which, you may or may not know, allows you to get drafted every season rather then having to play two seasons of college baseball before being eligible again for the draft. Also, as the rules have since changed, no other team could talk to Andy Pettitte nor sign him until a day before the next year's draft because he did not sign with the Yankees. It did not matter anyway as Andy signed with the Yankees the very next season, in 1991, as an amateur free agent for $80,000 which was a nice bonus at that time. Andy turned down a chance to pitch for perennial powerhouse University of Texas to travel to New York.


Pettitte made his pro debut in 1991 going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 6 Gulf Coast League (GCL) starts followed by a 2-2 record with a 2.18 era in the New York Penn League (NYPL). Those two levels combined Pettitte had 83 K's and 24 BB's for nearly a 4-1 ratio, which is amazing. His command was very impressive but his velocity and "stuff" were considered nothing more then average. Throughout the minors his walk rates got better and better but his K/9 rate got worse and worse. While he showed all the way through the system that he could get advanced hitters out no one was every crazy about Pettitte due to his strike outs. He never once did rank as a Top 10 prospect in any league that he played in because of the low strike out rates and Pettitte projected to be a back end of the rotation starter due to his strike out issues. Pettitte was never graded higher then a "B" graded prospect in his entire minor league career but he had an uncanny ability to hammer the strike zone, keep batters off balance with his off speed stuff, and give his team a chance to win every single time out there.


Pettitte started his Major League career in the bullpen in 1995 after losing out on the fifth starter competition to Sterling Hitchcock. Pettitte was not long for the bullpen though as he replaced an injured Jimmy Key in the rotation where he won six of his last seven starts finishing his rookie season with a 12-9 record and a 4.17 ERA. Pettitte did enough to force the Yankees to trade Hitchcock before the 1996 season and led New York to place Pettitte in the starting rotation. Pettitte started the first half of the season with a 13-4 record which earned him an All-Star appearance for the American League. Pettitte finished the 1996 season with 21 wins which led the American League and finished second in the AL Cy Young Award vote to Toronto's Pat Hentgen. Pettitte would have the last laugh though as the Yankees won the World Series in 1996.

Pettitte followed that amazing season off with 18 more victories in 1997 and a fifth place finish in the AL Cy Young Award vote. Pettitte did not get another ring in 1997 but after 16 more wins in 1998 for possibly the best team of all-time, the 1998 New York Yankees, he received his second World Series ring with a sweep of the San Diego Padres. Pettitte got rings in the 1999 World Series and 2000 World Series as well with two more great seasons from the left-handed pickoff specialist cementing his position as one of the best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. Pettitte made his second All-Star Game trip in 2001 and even won the ALCS MVP by mowing down the Seattle Mariners although the team lost the World Series with two outs in the 9th inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a tough loss for all Yankees and their fans.


Pettitte continued his streak of dominance for the Yankees through the 2003 season before hitting free agency for the first time in his career. Pettitte had his contract put on the back burner by owner George Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman which led him into the arms of the Houston Astros before 2004 on a three-year deal worth $31.5 million. Pettitte had elbow surgery in 2004 but was back healthy in the 2005 season just in time to lead the Astros to their first World Series in their organization's history. Pettitte and Clemens, teammates now in Houston, had the two best ERA's in the National League that season but it was not enough in a World Series loss. Pettitte finished his 2006 campaign out of the playoffs before hitting free agency once again before 2007.


A wrong was righted in 2007 as the New York Yankees brought Pettitte back to the Bronx on a one year deal worth $16 million topping the Astros offer of $12 million for one season. Pettitte won his 200th game of his career in a Yankees uniform in 2007 finishing the season with a 15-9 record. Pettitte was back on a one year deal worth $16 million again in 2008 where he made the last start at the old Yankee Stadium. In that final game in Yankee Stadium Pettitte recorded his 2,000th strikeout of his career although he missed the playoffs for the first time in his Yankees tenure. Pettitte had done enough to earn a one year deal worth $5.5 million contract with incentives for the 2009 season, maybe his last.


Pettitte, along with new teammates CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, led the team to the World Series in 2009 with Pettitte on the mound for the clinching contest in every series. Pettitte grabbed his 18th postseason win in that Game 6 of the 2009 World Series and extended his own record of series clinching wins with his seventh of his playoffs career. Pettitte decided to pitch for the Yankees for the 2010 season when he signed for one year and $11.75 million, a great decision for Pettitte and the Yankees. Pettitte started the season 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA earning another All-Star Game appearance. The 2011 season, which ended with a loss to the Detroit Tigers in the postseason, ended up being his last as he announced his retirement before the 2012 season.


Pettitte sat out the 2012 season but decided he had at least one more season in his left arm and agreed to come back on a minor league deal worth $2.5 million for the 2013 season. Pettitte missed two and a half months with a fractured left fibula that season which limited him to just a 5-4 record with a 2.87 ERA in just two starts. Pettitte still had the itch in 2013 though as he agreed to a one year deal with New York worth $12 million. During that 2013 season Pettitte earned his 250th win of his career and became the wins leader for the Yankees organization all-time passing Whitey Ford. He also passed Ford on the Yankees all-time strikeouts list as well this season with a strikeout of Twins first baseman Justin Morneau.

Pettitte announced on September 20, 2013 that he would retire at the end of the season along with Mariano Rivera and Pettitte decided to go out in a big way. Pettitte started against the Houston Astros on the day before the final game of the season and pitched a complete game victory thus closing the book on a great career with an exclamation mark. Pettitte finished with a pair of 20 game winning seasons in 1996 and 2003, he reached the World Series seven times with the Yankees and one time with the Astros winning five of them, he still holds the postseason record for victories with 19 in his career and finished with a 256-153 win-loss record. Pettitte never had a losing record in his career and holds the record for the most win-save combinations along with Jorge Posada with 81 victories.

Weekly Prospects Check In: Gleyber Torres

The Yankees top shortstop prospect is set to learn from the best, more on this later, next month which raises the question. How good can Gleyber Torres possibly be before it is all said and done? I won’t let you in on who “the best” is but if you’re curious check back in with the blog later on today and we’ll share it with you. Torres, with the help of this special advisor and coach, has everything he needs to be special for the Yankees.

He has the makeup, he has the talent and now he’ll have the coaching to aid in his development. The Yankees are taking this whole youth movement thing serious it seems and it is definitely a sight for sore eyes. Congratulations Gleyber and good luck going forward.

Here is what Mr. Torres did this week for the Yankees and has done all season in High-A Ball: 

Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	19	Myrtle Beach	94	409	62	98	23	9	47	19	42	87	.275	.359	.433	.791
2016	19	Tampa	23	104	12	21	5	1	11	1	14	20	.233	.337	.344	.681

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/23: Yankees Present Andy Pettitte Day 2015

On this day in 2015 the Yankees presented to us all Andy Pettitte Day at Yankee Stadium. What another great ceremony and another great weekend in the Bronx as the organization honored their greats like no other team could or would.


Joe Torre passed Casey Stengel for second place on the Yankees all-time managerial wins list on this day in 2007. The victory was Torre's 1,150th win as a Yankees manager.

In case you were wondering Joe McCarthy still holds the all-time Yankees managerial wins record with 1,460 wins in 16 seasons as the Yankees manager.

Also on this day in 2003 the Yankees honored another great from the past when they held Ron Guidry Day at Yankee Stadium. Guidry's #49 uniform was retired after Louisiana Lightning spent his entire career with New York posting a 170-90 record and being co-captain of the club with Willie Randolph. Guidry also received a plaque in Monument Park in his honor on this day.

Finally on this day in 1958 the Yankees Whitey Ford ended Nellie Fox's consecutive games streak without a strikeout. Fox had gone 98 straight games without striking out before Ford rung him up in a 7-1 victory for the White Sox.

Yanks Drop Seattle Series Opener Despite Two-Homer Games By Sanchez & Castro

On a chilly night in Seattle. the Yankees squandered two two-homerun games by Gary Sanchez and Starlin Castro as they fell to the Mariners in game one of the three-game set. Former Mariner Michael Pineda and emergency call-up Cody Martin started the game for both sides tonight, neither of which would factor into the final decision in this wild west coast non-sanctioned homerun derby. Tonight's contest had a little bit of everything, from multi-homerun games to highlight reel catches to a ninth inning balk, with a total of seven longballs that accounted for every run of the game sprinkled on top in this action-packed back-and-forth game one.

The first Yankee catcher to win the AL Player of the Week Award since former captain Thurman Munson did it in 1978, Gary Sanchez put the Bombers on the board first with his sevent bomb in the first 17 games of his young career. Sanchez's homer bounced off the top of the left field wall and into the stands to put the Yankees up 1-0 in the top of the first.

Not to be outdone in the top of the second, Starlin Castro obliterated a hanging breaking-ball from Martin that went deep into the stands in left to extend the Yankee lead to two.

After keeping the potent Mariner offense scoreless through three, Pineda gave up the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Seth Smith started the rally with a leadoff opposite field double down the line in left, advancing to third on a Robinson Canó single. Two batters later, the RBI leader for Seattle Kyle Seger unloaded on a Pineda 3-0 get-me-over fastball to dead center that gave the M's a 3-2 lead.

The homerun derby continued in the top of the sixth as the Bombers slugged their way back on top. After Ellsbury ripped a one-out single, the dream career start for rookie sensation Gary Sanchez continued as he went deep for the second time tonight, a two-run blast to center that put the Yanks up by one. And then two batters later, Starlin Castro followed with his second longball of the game, another blast to dead center that made it 5-3 New York.

The Mariners again used the homerun ball to retake the lead in the bottom of the sixth as they knocked Pineda out of the game. After giving up a single to Canó and a one-out walk to Seger, Pineda was pulled for Tommy Layne while responsible for the two runners on base. Layne got Adam Lind to pop out and was taken out for Anthony Swarzak, who worked Mike Zunino to a full count before serving up a three-run jack to the M's backstop that put them back on top by a 6-5 score. Because both runners were his, Pineda's final line ended up at 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out six. The Zunino shot was also the 10th homerun allowed by Swarzak in just 28 innings of work, which should be good enough for a ticket back to Scranton if you ask me.

In this road trip of unbelievably amazing catches, late-inning defensive replacement Sean O'Malley added his name to the list as he dove into the stands in foul territory to record the second out of the seventh. And then in the bottom of the eighth, Jacoby Ellsbury soared through the air to steal an extra-base hit away from Canó, crashing into the wall to record the first out of the eighth.

Before turning it over to their young closer Edwin Diaz, Nelson Cruz launched, you guessed it, the seventh homerun of the game, a broken-bat bomb to left that extended the Mariners lead to two. The rookie closer Diaz made things interesting by hitting the ninth inning leadoff hitter Brian McCann, who advanced to second base on a Chase Headley single. And after a rare balk that advanced both runners up a base to put the tying run in scoring position, Diaz got Brett Gardner to ground out to second to end the scoring threat and the game.

Let's hope the Yankees  have a short memory as they look for a series-tying victory in tomorrow night's game two, with first pitch scheduled for 10:10 PM/EST.



   

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 8/22

Here we go ladies and gentleman as the New York Yankees have made the trip to Safeco Field to take on Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners. This will be the first game of the three-game set this week and it will showcase a former Seattle Mariner taking the mound in Michael Pineda while Cody Martin counters for Seattle. The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

Follow along on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow or like our page on Facebook. Pineda vs. Martin, let's go. Go Yankees!

While We Wait: UFC 202 Post-Fight Interviews

I don't know what the acceptable time period is to talk about potential spoilers and such so if you haven't watched UFC 202 yet and you don't know who won then please look away now. You have been warned......

Okay so if you did see the fight you saw that Conor McGregor beat Nate Diaz in an intense and grueling five-round decision that was not without its controversy. Personally I thought McGregor won the fight as well and two of the judges agreed so maybe I'm not that far off but I can absolutely see the side of and understand your point if you thought Diaz pulled it out. It was that close, especially in the later rounds.

So while we wait let's check out the always entertaining post-fight interviews from the fight with both McGregor and Diaz. Enjoy and enjoy the game tonight as well.



Nate Diaz
  Conor Conor McGregor

ICYMI: MoonBigPapi.Com – No This is NOT a Joke

Photo credit goes to It Is High.... Blog

This has got to be the absolute greatest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. MoonBigPapi.com is a movement to honor the Red Sox legend the only way he should be honored inside Yankee Stadium, by showing him our asses before the door hits him in his. I’m actually being a little tongue in cheek right now because I do have a lot of respect for him and what he has done for the game, hissy fits, failed steroid tests, drama with Alex Rodriguez and hugs with former Commissioner Bud Selig aside, but would this not be fitting? Just a little?


Think of it this way. If say five or even ten fans moon Big Papi in his final game and in his final at bat they are likely going to jail after being escorted out of the stadium but what are they going to do to 40,000 of us? Is there enough room in the local jails for 40,000 inmates and detainees that mooned the Yankees most-hated rival inside of Yankee Stadium? I wouldn’t think so. They can’t arrest us all! Moon Big Papi!!!


To join the movement or to check out the website head to MoonBigPapi.com but remember, this is NSFW (not safe for work). Unless your job is okay with bare bottoms on your computer screen, then go right ahead.


Comment down below. Are you down?

Most Popular Article of the Week: Don’t Look Now but Jordan Montgomery is Coming

I have said it many times in my blog posts here at The Greedy Pinstripes and I am about to eat some crow for it too. I have been hard on the Yankees and their farm system for their seemingly lack of good quality starting pitching but while doing research for another blog post, a post that I ultimately scrapped and decided to write this instead, I found a few diamonds in the rough that many blogs and websites are not talking about. Chance Adams is one, Bryan Mitchell who is progressing through a rehab assignment is another and the final piece is the man we will showcase and talk about today, Jordan Montgomery.


Montgomery was a 2014 Draft pick by the Yankees in the fourth round and at the time it was widely thought that Montgomery was drafted to a bullpen piece for the Yankees going forward despite impressive numbers as a starter at the University of South Carolina. Montgomery, another one of those big-framed and hard-throwing pitchers the Yankees love, now stands just one step away from the Bronx after a mid-season promotion to Scranton/Wilkes Barre, a promotion and a run through the Yankees farm system that no one is seemingly talking about right now.


Montgomery credits a spike in velocity for his recent success. When Montgomery was drafted he was throwing in the 88-92 MPH range with movement and sink, with plus command as well, but these days Montgomery is seen throwing in more of the 91-94 MPH range with the same dip, sink and command. Montgomery has also improved on his changeup, his curveball and his cut fastball while improving his strikeouts per nine innings to almost 12 batters per nine in 2015.



James Kaprielian is probably the Yankees top pitching prospect, Domingo Acevedo is probably the Yankees pitching prospect with the highest ceiling and Justus Sheffield may be the Yankees pitching prospect that is showing the most promise right now but if you need a starting pitching prospect that can come up and not only come up now but come up and compete while keeping his team in games and giving his team the best shot to win, well you better watch out for Jordan Montgomery because he may be the man for the job.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 8/22

The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will kick off a potentially big series for both teams tonight inside Safeco Field. The Yankees are still in the thick of things for the second Wild Card in the American League however grim the situation appears right now while one of the teams looking to hold off the Yankees and grab that spot themselves are these same Seattle Mariners. In the opener tonight the Yankees will send a former Mariners pitcher to the mound in Michael Pineda looking to mow down a former Yankees second baseman in Robinson Cano. The Mariners will counter with Cody Martin who unfortunately has no ties to the Yankees either in the past or the present. Oh well, I like it when things work out like that.

Pineda began his career inside Safeco Field with the Seattle Mariners before being shipped to New York in the now infamous Jesus Montero trade. Pineda has pitched well lately including throwing five shutout innings last time out lowering his August ERA to just 3.18.

Martin will be making his second start of the season for the Mariners tonight against what has all of a sudden become a tough Yankees offense. In his last start he faced off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and he allowed two runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.


The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. Another game that happens in the middle of the night that comes on far too late for this East Coast guy to stay up and watch on a work night. It sucks, I miss my Yankees but I'm still rooting for them regardless. If you listen to my snores tonight they might sound a little like "Go Yankees" or something like that.

Remembering Yankees of the Past: Jorge Posada

As we learned or remembered on This Day in Yankees History this morning it was this day in 2015 that the New York Yankees honored their long-time catcher Jorge Posada with Jorge Posada Day at the stadium. Posada's #20 was retired and a plaque was placed in Monument Park to honor him. With this day one year ago in mind let's remember a great Yankee of the past. Hip Hip, Jorge!

Here is my post last year from Jorge Posada Day:





Welcome ladies and gentleman to Jorge Posada Day! Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta was born on August 17, 1971 in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico to Tamara and Jorge Posada Sr. Posada spent 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, all with the New York Yankees, and helped open the door for the offensive minded catcher along with the New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Posada finished his career with a .273 batting average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI as a switch hitting catcher. Jorge was a five-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and received four World Series rings as a member of the Yankees. Posada wasn't always the man we see before us today, at one time even Jorge Posada was a prospect.


Posada attended Alejandrino High School in San Juan where he not only played baseball for the school but other sports as well. Posada was a shortstop in High School and did enough in his time there to earn a scholarship from Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama. CCC recruited Posada without even scouting him and Posada accepted the scholarship without even visiting the school after his SAT scores kept him from going to a traditional four-year college. Posada was voted the best hitter in his first season, 1990, while earning the co-captain position as well. Posada's bat, rifle arm and attitude was enough to earn the attention of the New York Yankees who drafted him in the 24th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft. Posada signed for roughly $30,000 on a three year deal.


Posada began his Yankees career as a second baseman but the team feared that he lacked the speed to remain as an infielder so the team began the move from second base to catcher in 1992. Posada was not happy about the transition reportedly but after a bumpy beginning he agreed to it and ended up flourishing at the plate while catching some lanky lefty named Andy Pettitte for the first time that season. In his first full season as a catcher Posada hit 17 home runs and knocked in 61 RBI in 118 games garnering a promotion to Double-A. Posada's defense behind the plate needed work, he committed 38 passes balls in 1993, his bat was good enough to earn a promotion to Triple-A with the Columbus Clippers for the 1994 season. Posada's season started out well as he had 11 home runs before a collision at home plate broke his left leg, dislocated his ankle and prematurely ended his 1994 season. Posada was recovered from the ankle injury in 1995 and found himself almost immediately in the middle of multiple trade discussions.


The Yankees attempted to trade Posada to the Seattle Mariners for Tino Martinez before those talks fell apart. Just three weeks later the Yankees attempted to trade Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera to the Cincinnati Reds for David Wells but thankfully the Cincinnati GM turned the deal down. Deals like this is what makes me wonder why people state that they want George Steinbrenner back or GM's like Gene Michael running the team again. This also goes to show you how GM's, managers and owners simply get lucky sometimes but that is another discussion for another post I guess.


Posada was called up to the Major Leagues in 1995 and made his MLB debut replacing Jim Leyritz in a game on September 4, 1995. Posada was included on the postseason roster despite that debut marking his only game in the bigs and even allowed him into Game 2 of the 1995 American League Division Series as a pinch runner. Posada was back in Triple-A in 1996 before being added back to the roster as a September call up. Posada lasted just eight games in 1996 and was added to the postseason roster once again. Posada did not appear in the postseason in 1996 but he earned his first World Series ring in 1996 when the Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves in six games.



Posada was handed the backup catcher position in the 1997 season as he quickly became the student of starting catcher Joe Girardi. Posada appeared in 60 games that season before their season was ended prematurely by the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 ALDS. Once again in 1997 the Yankees offered Posada in a deal along with Mike Lowell for Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos. Martinez was ultimately traded to the Boston Red Sox instead as the Yankees once again dodged a bullet with their soon to be starting catcher. Posada used the trade rumors as motivation for the 1998 season and it seemingly worked as he finished the season with a .268 batting average, 17 home runs and 63 RBI while catching David Wells perfect game on May 17. Another season, another postseason and another ring for Posada, his second of his career.

Posada split time with Girardi in 1999 as well and once again won a World Series ring with the Yankees as he slowly saw his playing time increase. Girardi left the Yankees as a free agent before the 2000 season allowing Posada to become the full-time catcher in the Bronx. Posada made his first All-Star Game appearance after hitting .287 with 28 home runs and 86 RBI and won his fourth World Series as a member of the Yankees. Posada was right back in the Mid-Summer Classic in 2001 as well and was right back into the World Series as well when he came up one out short of his fifth World Series ring in pinstripes. While Posada didn't reach the World Series in 2002 he did make his third consecutive All-Star Game appearance and got a fourth nod in 2003. Posada was back in the World Series in 2003 after hitting the game tying hit against Pedro Martinez late in Game 7 of the ALCS but the team was unable to stop Josh Beckett and the Florida Marlins in the team's second World Series loss in three seasons. Posada finished the 2003 season in third place of the MVP Award voting behind Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado after hitting .281 with 30 home runs and 101 RBI.


While Posada rode the emotions of the 2003 ALCS after getting the big hit to tie the game he watched in the dugout in the 2004 ALCS when the Boston Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series and eventually their first World Series in 86 seasons. Posada hit free agency after the 2007 season and ultimately turned down a five-year contract offer from the New York Mets before re-signing with the Yankees on a four-year deal worth $52 million. Posada had the security of a large contract in 2007 but in 2008 he had to deal with a disabled list stint for the first time in his career. Posada underwent surgery in his right shoulder to repair a glenoid labrum that ended his season. This season was cut short by injury and was the first time in Posada's career that he did not see his team make the postseason.


Posada entered the 2009 season healthy along with a slew of new teammates and broke in the new Yankee Stadium in a big way hitting the first regular season home run in the stadium. Posada was back from the shoulder surgery and finished the season with a .285 average, 22 home runs and 81 RBI before winning his 5th World Series in a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Posada's power was on full display in 2010 as the team looked to defend their crown and even became the first Yankee since Bill Dickey in 1937 to hit grand slams in back-to-back games against the Houston Astros. Posada also collected his 1,000th career RBI but could not collect his 6th World Series ring as the team lost to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS. Following the 2010 season Posada underwent an arthroscopic surgery in his left knee to repair a torn meniscus that forced him out of the catcher position and into the DH position for the Yankees, something that did not go over well with Posada.


Posada had to watch as the Yankees signed Russell Martin to be their every day catcher and had to watch as former teacher, and current manager, Joe Girardi dropped him to 9th in the Yankees batting order. Posada asked to be removed from the lineup and told reporters he needed to clear his head and also mentioned he had some stiffness in his back as the reasons for asking out of the lineup. Posada was delegated to a bench role in August of 2011 but it earned him one more final trip to the postseason. Posada played well in the ALDS but the team lost the ALCS to the Detroit Tigers in five games as we all watched Posada on the baseball diamond for the final time.


Posada reportedly received interest from five or six teams during the offseason before the 2012 season but the New York Yankees were not one of them. In January of 2012 Posada decided to announce his retirement from the game of Major League Baseball. Posada has rejoined the team as a guest instructor during spring training since his retirement but has rarely been back to Yankee Stadium outside of Derek Jeter Day and Jeter's final game in the Bronx.


Posada is a legend, Yankees or not, and say what you will he deserves this honor of having his number retired by the Yankees. Not many players win five World Series or almost change a position for the better single-handed. Posada is a Yankee and now he will always be remembered as one. Congrats Jorge!