Monday, August 17

Welcome to this edition of the Yankees Beat newsletter. MLB.com's Sweeny Murti wrote this edition. Prior to joining MLB.com in 2023, Murti covered the Yankees for WFAN Radio from 2001-2022.

Jorge Posada turns 56 today. If you want to know what he’s been up to lately, just check out some of the hilarious videos he and his wife Laura have been making. Like this one. Or this one. 

As the Yankees struggle this season for offensive output at the catcher position, it’s another reminder of how prolific and durable Posada was in his career. And it’s quite possible his career will be viewed through a different lens soon.

Fourteen players whose career started in 1995 or later (Posada made his MLB debut in 1995) have been elected to the Hall of Fame, but only one -- Joe Mauer -- was a catcher.

Two other catchers in this category will presumably be elected to Cooperstown in the coming years. Buster Posey is eligible in 2027 and Yadier Molina the year after that. There is some sentiment that both could be first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Posada, who received less than five percent of the vote in his lone year on the ballot and thus was removed from future BBWAA ballots, must now wait for his turn with the Eras Committees. What could eventually help him there is that his statistics compare favorably with both Posey and Molina.

Posada has more career home runs and RBIs than both Posey and Molina. And he actually owns five World Series rings (including 1996, though he was not on the postseason roster). Only two catchers in Cooperstown have more championship jewelry: Yankees greats Yogi Berra (10) and Bill Dickey (eight). 

Other stats in Posada’s favor: his career OPS+ (121) is higher than Hall of Fame catchers Gary Carter (115), Carlton Fisk (117) and Ted Simmons (118). 

Posada’s durability behind the plate was remarkable, too. He caught 130 or more games eight times, which Molina equaled. Posey never reached that mark, topping 120 games caught only twice.

Perhaps Posada’s star didn’t shine as brightly as his teammates Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, but his contributions to the Yankees’ dynasty years were significant.

The next chance Posada could have for election under the current rotation will be on the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot in December 2028 for induction in 2029. If both Posey and Molina are inducted by then, it could prove to be a boost to Posada’s case with the committee.

Cam Schlittler (189) is currently third in the AL in strikeouts behind Toronto’s Dylan Cease (201) and Cleveland’s Gavin Williams (190). In the Expansion Era (since 1961), only two Yankees pitchers have led the AL in strikeouts. Can you name them?

Sad news over the weekend as 26-year MLB veteran pitcher Tommy John passed away at age 83. John had released a statement regarding his failing health the week before when he was unable to attend the annual Yankees Old-Timers' Day event. 

John spent eight seasons with the Yankees across two different stints. He won 20-plus games and made the American League All-Star team in both 1979 and ‘80.

In 1989, John was the Yankees’ Opening Day starter. At 45 years and 317 days old, he remains the oldest pitcher in MLB history to start and earn the win in an Opening Day game. He made his final Major League appearance with the Yanks on May 25, 1989.

John spent more years pitching after his groundbreaking surgery in 1974 than he did prior to it. John was still actively pitching at Yankees Fantasy Camp into his 60s.

On Friday, Aaron Judge played catch for the first time in his rehab process. He ran and played catch again on Sunday. Judge has been on the injured list since June 5 recovering from a fractured right rib. 

Judge has played in just 59 games this season. The Yankees are 36-23 with him in the lineup and 33-32 without him. 

The team’s offensive struggles have been evident, particularly since the All-Star break, but they have managed to hold onto a postseason spot. They enter play Monday with the second-best record in the AL and an eight-game cushion in the Wild Card race. 

The Yanks are 5 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. The two teams have one head-to-head series remaining, a four-game set in New York in the final week of the regular season.

In other injury news, Cody Bellinger is set to begin a rehab assignment later this week for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Bellinger has been out since July 26 with a left hamstring strain. 

Giancarlo Stanton, out since late April with a right calf strain, continues hitting and running activity, but manager Aaron Boone has not indicated when Stanton could be ready for a rehab assignment. 

It’s no secret that the Yankees rely on the home run ball for a major chunk of their offensive production. They aren’t the Bronx Bombers for nothing, you know.

However, this Yankees team is lining up to do something that hasn’t been done in almost 70 years. 

Through Sunday, the Yankees led the American League in home runs (171), but were last in the AL in hits (943). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees would be the first team in the Expansion Era to achieve this dubious double dip. 

It has happened eight times overall, with the 1957 Kansas City Athletics being the last team to do so. 

Only one team, the 1915 Philadelphia Phillies, reached the postseason while achieving this rare combo. That Dead Ball Era Phillies squad won the pennant by leading the National League with a whopping 58 home runs among their league-low 1,216 hits.

Al Downing (1964) and Gerrit Cole (2022) are the last two Yankees pitchers to lead the AL in strikeouts.

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