Decline & Fall: It Can Get Ugly

Jorge Posada isn't the first player
to face the ravages of age.

Watching great players age is not always pretty. As their skills erode and their stats slide, confidence drops and fans and the media debate what should be done. Should he be benched? Be moved in the batting order? Retire?

Such is the case with Jorge Posada, the latest in a line of great Yankees catchers (Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra and Thurman Munson among them). Posada has struggled mightily at the plate this year, with his average, below .170, the worst in baseball.

Posada is just the latest aging star to be forced to deal publicly with his decline. The decline of Willie Mays is perhaps the most talked about. I've written previously of how, for some reason, his stumbles as a player for the New York Mets overshadowed the fact the he drove in a key run in the World Series in his last season.

Babe Ruth's career ended on a similar note. The aging slugger was traded to the Boston Braves. By then he was overweight, said to be depressed and a shadow of the "Sultan of Swat." Ruth retired after going hitless on May 30, but he did have one great moment for the Braves: He hit three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 25. That feat has managed to give even his decline had a bit of Ruthian swagger.