MLB

Posada plays second base for Yankees

It had been two decades since Jorge Posada fielded a ball at second base. Not since the 40-year-old former All-Star catcher was a raw, first-year minor leaguer. But such was the Yankees’ 22-9 laugher against the A’s yesterday that he provided not only the game’s coupe de grace, but its comic relief as well.

After talking his way into playing the ninth inning at second base — a request manager Joe Girardi couldn’t refuse, after the tough year Posada has been through — Posada fielded Anthony Recker’s ground ball, and fired a one-hop throw to Nick Swisher at first base.

Posada got the out with a seed of a throw that actually knocked Swisher over and left him chuckling as he made the play, falling over.

BOX SCORE

“Now you guys know why they moved me behind the plate. I told Joe [Girardi] I wanted to go in there. Good glove, no throw,” said Posada. “It’d been a while. It’s been a long time since I took a ground ball on the infield.”

Posada was a 24th-round pick back in 1990, and played second base during his initial season in the minors. After 1991 he became a catcher, and never thought he would play second base again. But as the Bombers’ lead ballooned yesterday — they became the first team in history to hit three grand slams, and scored 20 runs in the last four innings — he saw his chance and started campaigning.

“I think at 16-8 I was going to put Russell [Martin] at second and [Francisco] Cervelli behind the plate. Jorge went, got his mitt and started saying, “I’ll go to second.’ Jorgie played in the minor leagues as a second baseman, [saying] if we get two more runs I’m going out there,” said Girardi, who moved Posada from catcher to DH this season.

“I’ve got him and [hitting coach Kevin] Long badgering me. I think everything Jorge has done for this organization, the numbers he’s put up and the year he’s been through this year, it was just hard to say no.”

So with the Yankees taking a 22-8 lead into the ninth, Girardi had Posada replace Russell Martin, had Cervelli take over at catcher and shifted Posada to second base. Naturally, with two out, Posada simply knew the ball was going to find him — and he turned out to be prescient.

“I knew it was coming [to me], that last out. No question. I knew that ball was coming right at me. I moved well and got to the ball, and thank God for Swish. He made a good pick,” said Posada.

“[I was] looking forward to it. I knew it was coming. Second out, I said, ‘Here it comes.’ I moved and I knew exactly where it was going to be at. That [throw] shows you right there exactly why they moved me behind the plate . . . I threw it too hard. I got super excited.”

Said Martin, “At first, I was supposed to go [to second]. Of course, he gets a play. He crow-hopped about eight times, and then threw a seed.”