For Team Italy catcher Kyle Teel, the 2026 World Baseball Classic has provided an opportunity to learn from a player he admired as a child. Jorge Posada, former New York Yankees catcher and current assistant hitting coach for Team Italy, is sharing his experience with Teel.
Teel, who recently turned 24 and completed a strong rookie season with the Chicago White Sox, grew up in New Jersey as a Yankees fan. He watched Posada play at Yankee Stadium and followed the team during its championship years.
“I’m just trying to be a sponge around him,” Teel said before Italy’s opening game against Brazil at Daikin Park. “Growing up, watching him at Yankee Stadium, being a Jersey guy and all, it’s really surreal being with him every single day.”
Posada is known for his achievements as an offensive-minded catcher during his 17-year career with the Yankees. Now working with Team Italy’s coaching staff—which also includes bullpen coach Sal Fasano and manager Francisco Cervelli—Posada is focusing on mentoring young catchers like Teel.
“He has a great attitude,” Posada told MLB.com. “He’s prepared, and he looks forward to game time. I see a different Kyle when it’s game time vs. when it’s practice. I like him. He knows what he wants to do, and he cares. That’s what you want as a catcher, is people that care. It means a lot to him, being a good catcher behind the plate.”
Cervelli explained that Posada was added to the coaching staff specifically for his expertise in developing catchers.
“That was the reason why I brought Jorge here,” Cervelli said. “When I asked him, he didn’t hesitate. He gave me the answer in five minutes. And I told Kyle and [fellow Team Italy catcher J.J.] D’Orazio, get as much information as possible.
“This guy knows about winning. This guy knows about the game. He played more than everybody else. He’s got five [World Series] rings. So whatever you can take from him or from the whole coaching staff, it’s going to be good for your career.”
Teel had already started well in Major League Baseball by posting numbers above league average during his first season—his OPS+ of 121 indicated performance 21% better than average—but Posada’s guidance aims to help further refine his approach behind the plate.
“I’ve told him little tricks,” Posada said. “To get out there a little bit earlier, stretch and have his gear already in the bullpen. Little things that you don’t think about, that I started to do later in my life…I feel like Kyle has an idea, but he didn’t know all those little things that will help him be ready for the game.”
The connection between mentor and mentee is meaningful for both men.
“It means a lot,” Posada said of Teel looking up to him growing up near New York City. “He’s from the New York area…but he didn’t say anything until today that I was the guy he watched and looked up to…Hopefully it’s all good things [that Teel took away from watching me play]. I had a lot of pride in playing the game the right way — and that’s what you want. You want kids to look up to the way you play, the way you respect the game.”