Jorge Posada

Retired baseball star Jorge Posada was born Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta on August 17, 1971, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Posada played a number of sports as a teen, including basketball and volleyball. While attending Colegio Alejandrino High School, he was named a baseball all-star for the 1988-89 season.

After high school, Posada went to Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama. He continued his success on the field and was voted best hitter in 1990. Drafted by the New York Yankees in 1991, Posada started out in the minor leagues with Oneonta Yankees.

Posada made his major league debut on September 4, 1995, but didn't get to play many games for the Yankees in his first few years. He was made the team's starting catcher in 2000, and had a fielding percentage of .993 that season. In his years with the Yankees, Posada excelled as a catcher, occasionally playing first base, and contributed to the team's World Series wins in 1998, 1999 and 2000. He was also selected to play in the All-Star Game four times, from 2000 to 2003.

In January 2012, a 40-year-old Posada announced that he would be retiring from baseball. He ended his 17-year career with a .273 average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs in 1,829 games (17 seasons), all with the Yankees.

Of the now-retired baseball star, Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg stated, "Jorge Posada is a great Yankee and a great New Yorker. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I congratulate him on his outstanding career and thank him for the invaluable contributions he's made to our city."

Posada has won awards for his work on and off the field. In 2000, he received the Thurman Munson Award for his professional accomplishments and charity work. That same year, he and his wife, Laura, established the Jorge Posada Foundation, which helps children with craniosynostosis, a birth defect that affects skull growth. The Posadas started the foundation after their son, Jorge Jr., was born with the disease. Their organization provides financial assistance for medical costs to children in need and for research. Married since 2000, Posada and his wife also have a daughter named Paulina.