When I heard that Posada was out with a fractured foot, it really didn’t bother me much because we have Francisco Cervelli who is probably the best back up in the league. I like Cervelli as the starting catcher for the New York Yankees.
If you look at this year’s stats, Francisco Cervelli is more than a capable back up. He could start on any team in baseball. He played 22 games and Posada played in 26. Cervelli is batting .373 and Posada is batting .326. Cervelli has 17 RBI and Posada, 14. Cervelli also has a higher on base percentage at .442 to Posada’s .406. Cervelli has a .417 BAbip meaning when he hits the ball in play, he has that average. That’s how many balls go through. Posada has a .343 BAbip. Cervelli has also hit into one double play all year meaning he doesn’t kill rallies.
The most impressive stat of Cervelli’s is his batting with runners in scoring position. He’s hitting at a .611 clip. Posada is hitting only .217 with men in scoring position. With two outs and men in scoring position, Posada is only hitting .154. Can you guess Cervelli’s average with two outs and men in scoring position? .750. Wow.
Neither player will sustain those averages over the course of the year because catching is a difficult position but Cervelli’s clutch stats are what separates him from Posada so far this year. To say we are going to miss Posada is true but we won’t miss him as much.
Stats and clutch stats from Baseball-Reference.com
