16 Oct 2003: Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees during the Yanks 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in game 7 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium in New York, NY. (Photo by John Dunn/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) | Sporting News via Getty Images On August 17, 2003, Jorge Posada went 0-2 with a pair of walks and the Yankees won 8-0. He turned 33 that day. The win moved the Yankees to 4-0 on his birthday when he was in the lineup (winning World Series titles in 1999 and 2000). They advanced to the Fall Classic in 2003, though they ignominiously fell to the Marlins. The next year, they lost 8-2 to the Twins (!!!) on Posada’s birthday. Two months after that loss, the unthinkable happened in the ALCS-that-shall-not-be-named. Coincidence? I think not.Random anecdote aside, I am an unabashed Jorge Guy. I authored his entry for the Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees of All-Time and I was one of the biggest Posada boosters on the staff, ranking him at No. 11 on my personal list. I have no regrets. In this house, we respect switch-hitting catchers who hit for power and average and who look like they would crawl barefoot over broken glass to win a baseball game.Long after the Yankee dynasty ended, Posada was my guy when I played MLB The Show. For some reason, I murdered breaking balls when hitting left-handed with him. My now sister-in-law, who’s since become a Blue Jays fan (sigh), used to gleefully shout “Hip Hip, Jorge!” when the Yankee backstop went yard while we watched the Yanks play, even against Toronto.I have a ton of fond memories of Posada and he’ll always be one of my favorite Yankees. It’s a pleasure to wish him a happy birthday (though I am about 99 percent sure he’ll never read this).Name: Jorge Rafael PosadaBorn: August 17, 1970 (Santurce, Puerto Rico)Yankees Tenure: 1995-2011Having written 3,000 words on Posada, it would be both repetitive and long-winded if I just dug back into his biography. Instead, I’ll use his birthday as a chance to reminisce on my two favorite moments in his long, decorated career. My apologies to The Flip Play, as I’ve seen enough fielding nincompoopery from Yankees over the years that I no longer take it for granted that Posada remained alert and in position to field Jeter’s absurd flip to the plate and tag Jeremy Giambi.When I say Posada struck me as the type who would crawl barefoot over broken glass to win a game, I think back 20 years ago to a game against the Rangers, one we featured in our Top 25 Games of the Past 25 Years series.After an inning and a half, the Yankees found themselves trailing 9-0. It would have been extremely easy for them to pack it up and head for the showers as soon as possible. Instead, we got a comeback for the ages, and Posada’s imprint was all over it. An RBI single in the third, a sacrifice fly in the fifth (the latter cut the deficit to 10-5). In the top of the sixth, future teammate Mark Teixeira obliterated him at home plate. Posada held onto th
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