Jorge Posada: Is he a Hall of Famer?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Jorge Posada announced his retirement Tuesday after 17 years in the major leagues, all with the New York Yankees.The 40-year-old catcher won five World Series, was a five-time all-star and finished with a .273 career batting average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs.

It’s all very impressive, and he’s certainly going to go down as one of the all-time great Yankees. But is he a Hall of Famer?

There are 16 catchers enshrined in Cooperstown. Posada -- who also has 1,664 hits, 900 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .374 and slugging percentage of .474 -- is statistically pretty average when compared to those guys.

But that can be taken two ways -- it’s true that Posada doesn’t dominate in any particular category, but he definitely holds his own among the best who have ever played his position.

He also won no Gold Gloves, and his highest finishes in MVP voting were third in 2003 and sixth in 2007. As a point of comparison, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench won 10 Golden Gloves and two MVPs.

But there’s a lot to be said for those five World Series titles, including four during a five-year stretch from 1996-2000, and the role Posada played on those teams. And the fact that he played for so long and always wore a Yankees uniform -- those are the kinds of things statistics don’t necessarily reveal but voters certainly must take into account.

So what do you think? Vote in the poll, then leave a comment explaining why you voted the way you did.

ALSO:

Dodgers should sign Clayton Kershaw, long term

Angels owner Arte Moreno wins L.A. Sports Council award

Prince Fielder and Tigers reportedly agree to $214-million deal

-- Chuck Schilken