• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Posada and Yankees agree four-year deal

NEW YORK
Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:06am EST
New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada throws out Baltimore Orioles batter Kevin Millar in the first inning of their MLB American League game at Yankee Stadium in New York, September 17, 2007. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Catcher Jorge Posada and the New York Yankees finalized a four-year $52.4 million deal on Thursday that will keep the catcher in pin stripes through the 2011 season.

Sports

The Yankees had reached a preliminary agreement with the All-Star catcher two weeks ago but did not make it official until Thursday.

The deal is the richest ever signed by a catcher according to media reports, with Posada's average salary of $13.1 million narrowly eclipsing the $13 million yearly wage paid out by the New York Mets to Mike Piazza and the Detroit Tigers to Ivan Rodriguez.

"I belong a Yankee," Posada said on MLB.com. "I'm really happy that I got the chance to sign a good contract and really happy that I got the chance to stay with the Yankees.

"Going elsewhere, I was going to hear the offers but the Yankees made it really tough."

Posada batted a career high .338 last season with 171 hits, also a career best.

The 36-year-old catcher also had 20 home runs and 90 RBI.

Having spent his entire career with the Yankees, the five-time All-Star has appeared in 1,432 regular season games clubbing 218 homers and driving in 861 runs.

He helped the Yankees to four World Series titles, including three straight from 1998.

(Steve Keating, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Sports


More from Reuters

A male polar bear cannabalizes a polar bear cub in an area about 300km (186 miles) north of the Canadian town of Churchill November 20, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/Iain D. Williams

Polar bear turns cannibal

As the world focuses on climate change in Copenhagen, the animal that has come to represent global warming is turning cannibalistic as the Arctic ice melts their hunting grounds, a U.S.-led global scientific study said.  Slideshow | Full Article 

    Climate Conference
    Emmanuel Roy, a suspect in a mortgage-fraud scheme is escorted by FBI agents after being taken into custody in New York, October 15, 2009. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

    Sowing seeds of corruption

    Corruption, whether it's crooked officials, financial fraudsters or philandering sports stars, is the country's No. 1 criminal threat, says the FBI.  Full Article 

    Corporate Crime
    Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida November 16, 2009. Atlantis lifted off its seaside launch pad on Monday, loaded with spare parts to keep the International Space Station flying after the shuttles are retired next year. REUTERS/Scott Audette

    Can Florida re-launch itself?

    The sunshine state's space program is a boon for local businesses, especially when a shuttle takes off. But what happens when the 29-year old program comes to a close next year?  Full Article 

    U.S.