Posey opts to sit out 2020 season
SAN FRANCISCO » The last time Buster Posey went a season without wearing a Giants jersey, there were questions regarding Bruce Bochy’s job security, uncertainty over whether Brian Sabean was a competent executive and legitimate fears held by lifelong fans of the team in San Francisco they would never see the franchise win a World Series title.
Posey made the emotional decision to opt out of the 2020 baseball season Friday after he and his wife Kristen adopted identical twin girls. The girls were born last week and the adoption became official Thursday, cementing Posey’s commitment to putting the health and safety of his family ahead of his desire to play baseball during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eleven years after Posey debuted with the Giants and 10 years after he became the team’s full-time starting catcher, one of the most accomplished players in franchise history announced his choice on a video conference with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler.
“I ultimately would still make the same decision no matter whether I had the support or not,” Posey said. “But it’s certainly nice to have the leadership of the organization back me in my decision and a couple of guys that are family men themselves.”
Posey has transformed baseball on the shores of McCovey Cove in ways no member of the organization could have imagined since the Giants selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft.
His six All-Star nods, four Silver Slugger Awards and 2012 MVP honor have cemented his individual legacy as one of the franchise’s all-time greats, but it’s Posey’s presence behind the plate that helped guide the Giants to unprecedented heights and three World Series titles over the last decade.
Posey’s on-field achievements turned Bochy into a future Hall of Famer, made Sabean one of the most accomplished executives in recent history and gave the city of San Francisco three parades up Market Street.
Leaders from the Giants’ past have moved on from their roles, teammates who received Posey’s famous bear hugs have retired or begun playing elsewhere, but on Friday, the lone holdover from San Francisco’s first title team in 2010 received full support from new leaders who have a firm grasp of what the catcher means to the organization.
“Obviously (with) Buster it’s a no-brainer, we’re going to support wholeheartedly,” Kapler said.
Even if the Giants would love to have Posey’s counsel at some point during the year, the organization wants to allow its franchise player to prioritize his family and move at his own pace.
“I think as accommodating as Buster is, we want to be able to not take up too much of his time especially in the next few weeks,” Zaidi said. “His family is going to have their hands full.”