In the last half of the 1990s, the New York Yankees built a dynasty that would win four World Series Championships in five years.  Jorge Posada missed the first one (1996) as he was not part of the postseason roster, but the Puerto Rican Catcher would see his playing time rise and earn rings with New York in 1998 and 1999.

The year 2000 would be a different story, as he was no longer splitting duties at Catcher with Joe Girardi.  The Yanks again won the World Series, but this time, Posada was an All-Star and Silver Slugger.  Posada would be dubbed one-quarter of the Yankees' "core four" along with Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera.  Posada went to four more All-Stars and four more Silver Sluggers, and he was one of the most highly regarded players on the team.

Posada was an expert at handling his pitchers, and he brought power from the Catcher's position.  He hit the 20 Home Run plateau eight times and would have 275 overall with 1,065 RBIs.  In 2007, he became the first Catcher to record an offensive season in which he batted .330 and had at least 40 Doubles, 20 Home Runs, and 90 RBIs.  Posada would win another World Series with New York in 2009.

Posada retired in 2011, and he is considered to be one of the better offensive Catchers in baseball history.

Jorge Posada was selected in the 24th round of the 1990 draft as a skinny infielder out of an Alabama community college, a place where you are barely expected to make it out of single A. Tapped to convert to catcher by the front office, the Puerto Rican native hammered away at his defensive assignments until making his mark in the Bronx. He eventually cemented his status as the fiery, emotional engine of the legendary "Core Four" alongside Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.

Posada brought a rare and formidable offensive style to the switch-hitting catching position. He played with a fierce, competitive mindset at the plate, often skipping batting gloves and using dirt on his hands to get a tough, gritty grip on the bat. His patient approach in the zone helped wear down opposing pitchers, earning over 100 walks in 2000 and maintaining an on-base percentage often above .370. Year after year, he challenged the American League with strong extra-base hitting, accumulating a high number of RBIs and achieving eight seasons with 20 or more home runs.

That player's peak performance was evident during a historic showcase in 2003. Posada dominated pitching by hitting 30 home runs, driving in 101 runs, and leading the Yankees’ offense with a strong .281/.405/518 slash line. His consistent daily performance earned him a third-place finish in the American League MVP voting, demonstrating his ability to lead a top-tier lineup from behind the plate. He capped his career with a remarkable 2007 season, hitting .338 with 42 doubles and 20 home runs at age 35, earning his fifth Silver Slugger Award.

When the postseason spotlight intensified, Posada proved to be a highly valuable asset. He caught for the team in the 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009 championships, earning four World Series rings as the main catcher for the pitching staff. His exceptional durability helped him set major league records for the most postseason games played (119) and hits (103) by a catcher, confidently managing top-tier postseason rotations.

Age and severe knee wear finally prompted a full-time move to designated hitter during his final summer in 2011, culminating in a dramatic, division-clinching walk-off hit against Tampa Bay before he formally walked away from the diamond. Posada spent all 17 of his professional seasons in a single uniform, retiring as one of only five catchers in history to cross the metric threshold of 1,500 hits, 350 doubles, 275 home runs, and 1,000 runs batted in.

The Yankees retired his number 20 in 2015.

Our favorite day here at Notinhalloffame.com is always when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces their annual Classes.  Our second day is when they announce their Baseball Hall of Fame Class.

That second day is here.

The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017 has been announced and let’s get right to it as we have three new Baseball Hall of Famers

The highest vote getter this year is Jeff Bagwell who is selected on his 7th year of eligibility.  Bagwell received 86.2% of the vote, well up from his 71.6% last year.  It has been believed that his delay into getting into the Baseball Hall has been due to PED suspicion, but that is all there was in his case. 

Finishing second on the ballot is Tim Raines, who was on his last year of eligibility.  “Rock” had 86.0% and like Bagwell received a more than 15% jump.  For many Baseball fans, this is long overdue and many are thrilled to see him get his due.

Perhaps a bit of a surprise is that Ivan Rodriguez entered on his first ballot with 76.0%.  Statistically, I-Rod is Cooperstown worthy but he has a direct PED accusation from Jose Canseco though was never named in the Mitchell Report.

Overall, the PED users/suspected players have seen a rise in the totals, a lot of which can be attributed with the elimination of older and inactive baseball writers from the process and the induction of Bud Selig, who presided over the time that PED use arose in the game.

Let’s look at those who didn’t make the cut:


Trevor Hoffman: 2nd Year on the ballot, 74.0%

The prolific reliever did not make this year, but he was only a handful of votes away.  He finished with 67.3% last year and should get in next year. 

Vladimir Guerrero: 1st Year on the ballot, 71.7%

“Vlad the Impaler” was pegged by some as a first ballot inductee but it won’t take him long to get in.  He should be a lock next year.

Edgar Martinez: 8th Year on the ballot, 58.6%

Edgar has only two years left but this was a huge jump from the 43.4% he had last year.  Martinez was a Designated Hitter, a position that has hurt him in the past and the fact that three people got in to help thin the ballot somewhat does not hurt his cause.

Roger Clemens: 5th Year on the ballot, 54.1%

This was a huge jump for Clemens and the first time he eclipsed 50 percent.  This is up 8.9% from last year and perhaps for the first time we have a strong reason to think that the Rocket could get in. 

Barry Bonds: 5th Year on the ballot, 53.8%

See above.  Could we see in the future a year where both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens enters Cooperstown together?  A few years ago we wouldn’t have thought so, but now that seems like a possibility.

Mike Mussina: 4th Year on the ballot, 51.8%

Mussina doesn’t get a lot of attention as he is not a controversial choice, nor is he one that plays to the media.  He did however jump up past the 50% mark for the first time and is going in the right direction.

Curt Schilling: 5th Year on the ballot, 45.0%

Schilling dropped 7 percent, and we all know why don’t we?  He angered the media with his comments toward them and is this backlash was long expected.

Lee Smith: 15th Year on the ballot, 34.2 %

This is the end for Smith, who at one point was the all-time Saves leader.  Based on how he was trending, he was lucky to make it this far.

Manny Ramirez: 1st Year on the ballot, 23.8 %

This could be the biggest surprise.  The suspected PED users went up, but Ramirez was caught and suspended twice.  Maybe the writers thought “Manny being Manny” was not enough explanation.

Larry Walker:  7th Year on the ballot, 21.9%

While it doesn’t look like Walker will get in, he did jump up from his 15.5% from last year.

Fred McGriff:  7th Year on the ballot, 21.7%.

McGriff barely budged from his 20.9% from last year.  It isn’t looking good for the “Crime Dog.”

Jeff Kent: 3rd Year on the ballot, 16.7%

The former National League MVP moved up…0.1%.  Is there a Survivor Hall of Fame?

Gary Sheffield:  3rd Year on the ballot, 13.3%

Sheffield mildly improved but he on such a crowded ballot, he still has time to jump up considering his career stats.

Billy Wagner: 2nd Year on the ballot, 10.2%

Wagner actually went down from his 10.5% from the year before.  Realistically, just staying on the ballot is a win for him.

Sammy Sosa:  5th Year on the ballot, 8.6%

Sosa is still alive, so we are stuck debating him another year.

The notable player who did not make the 5% to stay on the ballot was former New York Yankee Catcher, Jorge Posada, received 3.8%.

Others who received votes were Magglio Ordonez (0.7%), Edgar Renteria (0.5%), Jason Varitek (0.5%) and Tim Wakefield (0.2%).

The others on the ballot who did not receive any votes were Corey Blake, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, J.D. Drew, Carlos Guillen, Derrek Lee, Melvin Mora, Arthur Rhodes, Freddy Sanchez and Matt Stairs.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the latest Baseball Hall of Fame Class and we will be unveiling our next list in a month’s time.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential.

Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least amount of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.

Over the past weekend, The New York Yankees officially gave former battery mates, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte the highest accolade they can give, as their numbers were officially retired by the organization.

Posada had his number #20 retired on Saturday by the only MLB organization he ever played for.  Posada was a member of four World Series Championship teams, was a five time All Star and five time Silver Slugger Award winner. 

Pettitte’s ceremony took place on Sunday.  As a Yankee, #46 won five World Series Rings won 219 Games and another 18 in the post-season.  He also has the most Strikeouts in Yankees history.

This is no small honor as they join a very exclusive list of legends which includes:



Billy Martin #1

Babe Ruth #3

Lou Gehrig #4

Joe DiMaggio #5

Joe Torre #6

Mickey Mantle #7

Bill Dickey #8

Yogi Berra #8

Roger Maris #9

Phil Rizzuto #10

Thurman Munson #15

Whitey Ford #16

Don Mattingly #23

Elston Howard #32

Casey Stengel #37

Mariano Rivera #42

Reggie Jackson #44

Ron Guidry #49

Bernie Williams #51



It should be noted that the numbers are displayed in Monument Park, adjacent to left field.  It is expected that Derek Jeter’s #2 will join this list shortly.

Congratulations go out to the New York Yankees, which have the best lot of retired numbers in Baseball.

Just you because they were your former teammate it does not mean that you automatically think that they should be in the Hall of Fame.

That is what we learned from former New York Yankee, Jorge Posada, who was an All Star Catcher and former teammate of Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens, the latter of which has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for a few years and is not expected to enter Cooperstown based on the support he has received thus far. 
Posada was not ambiguous when asked on CBS whether A-Rod or Clemens should be in the Hall as his answer was “No…I don’t think it’s fair”.  This was also a stance that will be echoed in his book, which he has been promoting nationally.

While, the former baseball player was clear on his opinion, there did not appear to be any overt hostility towards the men he shared a World Series Championship with. 

You know how hard it is to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame? In 2013, with a ballot brimming with qualified candidates, not one player received the 75 percent of the votes needed for admission. (I identified 14 likely Hall of Famers on the 2013 ballot.)

Granted, 2013 was the first year of eligibility for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both poster boys for performance-enhancing drugs (PED), bringing to a head the contentious debate about "cheaters" and their admission into the Hall. But there were certainly several "clean" players on that ballot, and a few of those, such as 3000-hit-club member Craig Biggio, would have been uncontroversial picks in any previous year.

And although 2014 saw the election of three players—Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas—it was merely the tip of a talent-heavy iceberg (I identified 18 likely Hall of Famers for that ballot), while providing a burn to Biggio yet again as not only did he miss election by one vote (he garnered 74.8 percent of the vote), but three first-time candidates leapfrogged him into Cooperstown.