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An Ode to Joe Panik as He Retires

Joe Panik’s game-changing double play in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series

For nearly as long as I can remember, whenever anyone asked me who was my favorite baseball player, I said Jorge Posada. He was the player I wanted to emulate from the time I was little. Like Jorge, I didn’t wear batting gloves. Like Jorge, I slightly hunched over in my batting stance (until I realized it was easier to hit standing more upright). Like Jorge, I was a switch-hitting catcher.

Then, sometime in middle school, circa 2008, I heard about this local kid named Joe Panik.