It’s his first All-Star nod since 2018 and the seventh of his career, giving him one more selection to the National League squad than Willie McCovey and Will Clark earned in their storied Giants tenures. On Thursday, Posey was voted the National League starter at the catcher position for the fifth time in his career.
Last year, the Giants were confident Posey was due for a bounce back year, but after the coronavirus pandemic pushed back the start of the schedule and he and his wife Kristen adopted newborn identical twins, Posey elected to sit out the 60-game season.
257 with a career-low 83 OPS+, suggesting his best days in a Giants uniform were behind him. Upon returning to play in 2019, Posey hit. Less than two months later, Posey underwent season-ending hip surgery that forced him to spend an entire winter rehabbing in an effort to prepare for Opening Day. When Posey earned his sixth career All-Star nod in 2018, the Giants catcher was dealing with a hip injury that required him to skip festivities in Washington, D.C. Posey leaves behind a void that can’t possibly be filled.PHOENIX - A three-year gap between All-Star Game selections doesn’t sound so significant, but consider all that’s taken place between the last time Buster Posey was named to the National League All-Star team. They might defend their NL West title and might have an emerging young catcher capable of leading a pitching staff and providing important contributions on the offensive side of the ball.Ī lot can go right, but this much is clear: There’s no filling those shoes. Fans believe in Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler, and inside the organization, many believe Bart is ready to step into a starting role and perform at a high level. When the 2021 season began, it was unclear whether Posey could still be counted on to be one of the game’s top catchers.Īt the end of the year, he had re-established himself as one of the sport’s best players.įollowing a 107-win season, expectations for the 2022 Giants are sky-high. Seven years after Posey and the Giants last hoisted a trophy, the Florida State product saved some of the best memories of his career for the end of it.Īfter Posey underwent major hip surgery in August 2018 that left his ability to perform at an All-Star-caliber level in question, he chose to sit out the 2020 season to protect the health of adopted newborn identical twins. In 2014, Bumgarner and Posey formed a uniquely competitive battery that put the team on its shoulders and carried the Giants to a third title in five seasons.
ADOPTED BUSTER POSEY NEW TWINS PHOTOS SERIES
336 and won the NL MVP, blasted an unforgettable grand slam in Game 5 of the NLDS against Mat Latos and the Reds and again caught a pitching staff that lifted the Giants to their second World Series title in three years. Posey debuted in the majors by September 2009, forced his way back to the majors by late May 2010 and began authoring an unrivaled legacy right away.Ī Giants franchise that had yet to win a World Series since moving west to San Francisco in 1958 claimed its first in Posey’s rookie season, when the 23-year-old catcher hit cleanup and led a pitching staff featuring Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.Īfter a gruesome injury suffered in a brutal home plate collision with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins in May 2011 wiped out the remainder of his season, Posey returned to the Giants in 2012 and led them to even greater heights. 5 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft out of Florida State, he found himself on the fast-track to greatness. One of the greatest players in franchise history has other plans.įrom the moment the Giants drafted Posey with the No. The Giants badly wanted Posey to be a centerpiece of their 2022 club. The decision to pick up the option would have been a no-brainer for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris, but the team certainly would have been open to negotiating a multi-year extension. Posey will step away four days before the Giants had to decide whether to exercise a $22 million team option for the 2022 season. The Athletic first reported Posey’s plans, which a source confirmed to the Bay Area News Group. The path Posey charted was once-in-a-generation.Īt the end of one of the best seasons of his major league career, Posey, 34, is expected to formally announce his retirement on Thursday. The Giants have an impressive catching pipeline that features a pair of recent first-round draft choices, Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey, and a highly regarded international prospect in Venezuela native Ricardo Genovés, but no member of that trio can be expected to follow the same footsteps Buster Posey took in San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO - Forget filling those shoes, it’s not going to happen.
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