Posada to get some Hall of Fame love

Unlike Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada won't poll in the single digits in the voting in his first year on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Judging from the comments by baseball writers such as Jack Curry and Mark Feinsand (who does not yet have a vote, but will by the time Posada is eligible), the now-retired New York Yankees catcher has a solid chance to make it into the Hall of Fame. Unlike Bernie, whose candidacy was quickly dismissed by multiple writers, Posada's resume has been compared favorably to current catchers in the Hall. That, combined with his postseason success, could put Posada over the magic 75% threshold.

Will Posada make it into the Hall on the first ballot? I don't think so. A number of writers will be supportive of his entrance into the Hall, but not on the first ballot, which they reserve for baseball's immortals. Posada was a great player for many years, but not an immortal on the level of his pal Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, who will both make it in on their first tries. 

Of course, there will be those who put Posada squarely in the Bernie Williams category: good but not great players whose superior postseason credentials mask the fact that they are simply not Hall-caliber. But there may not be enough of them to keep Posada out of the Hall, especially if the stat geeks get on board with his candidacy.

Posada is definitely going to get some love from the baseball writers. The key unanswered questions are how much love and will it eventually be enough?