The First Home Run of a Yankees Legend Came on May 4
May 4 doesn't always jump off the page in Yankees history. But in 1997, it quietly became the start of a legacy that will be remembered forever in the Bronx and throughout baseball.
That afternoon in Kansas City, a 25-year-old catcher named Jorge Posada stepped into the box against Royals right-hander Jim Converse and crushed a ball. He sent it over the fence for his first home run in the big leagues. It was the beginning of the last Yankees' dynasty.
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It was really an unassuming moment at the time. The home run came in the seventh inning of a Yankees win, but looking back, it was the first flash of what Posada would become.
The numbers he put up the rest of his career speak for themselves: 275 career home runs, five All-Star selections, five Silver Sluggers, four World Series rings. He was a 'true Yankee,' spending 17 seasons in the Bronx and never playing for another team.
Posada was more than those numbers. He was considered the heartbeat behind the plate. He was tough, smart, and steady. Posada was a cornerstone of the Core Four. Derek Jeter's best friend.
New York Yankees legend Jorge Posada at Old Timers Day in 2024 at Yankee Stadium. © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
And Posada will always be a key part of the Yankees' storied history.
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Ironically, his first homer wasn't hit in front of a packed house in the Bronx. It came on a spring day in Missouri with little fanfare. Posada would go on to homer in the World Series, catch no-hitters, mentor generations of pitchers, and help define an era of Yankees baseball.
But May 4, 1997, was the day a legacy began quietly in Kansas City.
Related: Yankees Hold Shortstop Out of Game Following Shoulder Issue
Related: Yankees Want a Right-Handed Hitter, But Not That All-Star Third Baseman
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