If you're a New York Yankees fan and are soon headed south for baseball spring training, whether physically or in spirit, something will be very different at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa next week, when the Yankees start playing games. A lot of Oneonta area Yankee fans will probably know what will be different. Jorge Posada, a career catcher wearing New York pinstripes, will be missing, having retired in recent weeks.
Some will recall that Jorge Posada got his start as a Yankee in Oneonta, back in 1991. Unlike most players of the modern era, Posada remained a Yankee from start to finish.
When the Oneonta Yankees arrived in town in June 1991, they already had a bit of pressure on them, as the 1990 squad had won a New York-Penn League championship, the 11th in what was then Oneonta's 24th year in the league.
There was also a dark cloud over the front office of the Oneonta Yankees, as Albert "Sam" Nader and his wife, Alice, were in an auto accident in Atlanta in recent months. Alice died in the accident, but between Sam's longtime friend Sid Levine, brother-in-law Leroy "Sonny" House and Sam's son John and daughters Alice and Suzanne, they convinced Sam to lead this 1991 Oneonta team in defense of Oneonta's championship.
Among some very good players arriving in June was a 19-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Jorge Posada, who had played mostly as a shortstop at Calhoun Community College in Alabama before being drafted.
The new Oneonta Yankees manager, Jack Gillis, and his coaching staff saw this youngster as a future catcher. Posada was listed among three catchers in the early season roster. However, in the opening games of the season, Posada began at second base.
The Yankees opened the season at Damaschke Field on Monday, June 17, against the Utica Blue Sox.
Posada made a good first impression with the fans in the sixth inning, as Oneonta led, 5-4, and he doubled and was driven in to create a hefty lead, with Oneonta eventually winning the game, 10-5.
The announced attendance was 1,281.
Jorge Posada, when not playing second, was in training to become a catcher. Posada told The Daily Star in early July that it didn't matter to him where he played.
"The future plans are for me to see some catching," Posada said. "I don't care (where I play), I just want to be in the game. Catching is an aggressive position and I'm an aggressive person. They've been teaching me the basic stuff--how to catch, how to handle the ball, how to handle the pitchers."
Coach Jack Gillis said they liked Posada at catcher because, "He's got good hands and arm strength and he's a switch-hitter."
John Nader, former Oneonta mayor and a business manager for the Oneonta Yankees in 1991, recalled Posada going through the training to become a catcher. Nader remembered how Posada was well-liked by his teammates and worked well with Jack Gillis.
Nader also recalled that Andrea Modica, today an award-winning photographer who was then an instructor in photography at the State University College at Oneonta, took many photos of that 1991 team. A Web search can find some of Modica's work, including a photo of Posada, in full catcher's gear, sitting on a Neahwa Park bench.
The 1991 Yankees did well and had a lot of talent, but as a second place contender fell several games behind the Pittsfield Mets in their conference and failed to make the playoffs in early September. Another notable player who arrived during that season and eventually made the big club in New York was a pitcher, Andy Pettitte. Posada and Pettitte were sent to Tampa in September for what was then called the Instructional League.
Posada moved on, playing nearby again in 1993 for the Albany-Colonie Yankees in the Eastern League, before moving up to Columbus and then New York for eight games in 1996, and well beyond.
As for Posada's future, Nader, in speculation said, "He's a very intelligent guy. He's going to wind up doing some other things and be equally successful. I could see Jorge coaching, working with younger players. I could even see him becoming an executive in baseball."
This weekend: 1912 was a year for placing historic markers in Neahwa Park.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Columns
Jorge Posada trained in Oneonta to become future Yankees catcher
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
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- William Masters
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
