A career Giant
Buster Posey was magic, and the SF Giants and their fans can’t thank him enough
Buster Posey is leaving baseball and the Giants on his own terms. At age 34, this retirement, which will be formally announced Thursday, came as a surprise to many — even with plenty of hints to this fate coming in recent weeks. But his place in Giants lore has been secure for years.
Posey caps a Hall of Fame-worthy 12-year career with exactly 1,500 hits, a .302 batting average, .390 on-base percentage, and .460 on-base percentage.
He leaves behind his playing days a rich man, but an even richer legacy. Three names sum it all up: Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Buster Posey.
With apologies to countless other Giants legends dating back to the 1800's — many that are in the Hall of Fame — those are the three best to ever wear the black and orange.
Now, Posey can't claim to be the greatest player in the history of the sport, as both Mays and Bonds can, but he can flash three World Series rings.
Those mean an awful lot around these parts.
Posey changed the Giants from forgettable also-rans — a franchise that had not won a World Series for 56 years, when they were still playing in New York — into something resembling a juggernaut. Perhaps even a dynasty.
When you think about the three World Series-winning San Francisco Giants teams, the first name you will forever associate with them is Posey.
Yes, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Pablo Sandoval all had their turns as postseason heroes, but Posey was the heart-and-soul of the team, the driving force behind a one-of-a-kind winning machine.
Those titles were won by his teams. As such, there is an emotional component to Posey's Giants' tenure. He connected with fans. He created belief.
He was San Francisco's talisman. Giants fans understand what that means, even if the rest of the country can't comprehend it.
And make no mistake, they'll never forget it.
The Giants have been transitioning to a post-posey era for years now under Director of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi. This isn't to say that the catcher was pushed out — that couldn't be further from the truth. Zaidi wanted Posey back in a big way for 2022. But as baseball and the Giants enter an age of complete quantization, Posey might prove to be the last Giant whose greatness cannot be summed up in numbers.
Remember, outside observers — and plenty of insiders, too — could only explain the Giants' titles as “magic”.
But that lack of explanation was merely the inability to fully comprehend the impact of Posey, the last magical Giant.
A big part of that well-deserved mystical status stems from the fact that Posey is a catcher — one of the greatest to ever live.
And while the aforementioned statistics at the plate are excellent, it was Posey's work behind the dish that made him that much more special.
Baseball's team-running quants are currently obsessed with framing pitches. Posey was the poster child for that movement. No one stole more strikes for his pitchers than No. 28 during his playing days.
Posey's other defensive metrics were outstanding, too. If not for playing in the same league as the Cardinals backstop, Yadier Molina, Posey would have five, six, maybe seven Gold Gloves on his mantle to go along with his 2010 Rookie of the Year, 2012 National League MVP, and should-be five Silver Sluggers.
Alas, Posey's greatness behind the plate wasn't the flashy kind Molina employed, throwing tantrums into the face of umpires and throwing out stealing baserunners with a cannon arm and flair. That stuff grabs more attention, though you can't make the argument it helps teams win more games than Posey's deft glove and calm manner.
Along those same sides, there's no way to quantify Posey's greatness as a pitchers' receiver.
Giants hurlers were simply better with Posey behind the plate. Find all the newfangled stats you like — pitch-framing metrics and the like — they won't add up.
How can you possibly quantify a player who makes every one of his pitchers — from the final bullpen arm to the greatest postseason pitcher in modern baseball history — just a bit better?
Posey was a true master of calling a game. His pitch selection was something close to impeccable. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of National League hitters. And if you were a pitcher throwing to Posey and you didn't hit your spot, yes, he might steal you a strike or two.
Think back on it: Rarely did you ever see a Giants pitcher shake Posey off a pitch. Trust, it's the ultimate compliment.
And whether it was Logan Webb — thrust onto the biggest stage in the 2021 National League Division Series at age 24 — or Bumgarner calmly entering Game 7 of the 2014 World Series in relief knowing he was going to mow down Royals hitters, Posey knew how to instill confidence in every player that took the bump 60 feet, 6 inches away from him.
Posey, who was recruited to Florida State as a pitcher, was a pitcher's best friend. He was part psychiatrist, part coach, part ballplayer. Would Bumgarner, Lincecum, or Cain have been great without Posey? Probably. But all three, to a man, would tell you that Posey brought out the best in them.
The line behind them to echo that sentiment would stretch around the Oracle Park field.
The Giants won their first, second, and third World Series titles in San Francisco on the basis of great pitching, steady defense, and professional approaches at the plate, so how can you not credit Posey, the elite receiver, team leader, and one of the toughest outs in baseball in the heart of the Giants' order?
How can you possibly enumerate, appreciate, and immortalize everything Posey did for the Giants?
Retiring his number won't get the job done, though 28 will never be seen on a Giants' back again.
Putting him in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York doesn't seem to be fully appropriate, either, though that must happen, too.
A street near the ballpark named Posey Place? Maybe. A body of water — Buster's Bog? It's been done before, but there's no problem doing it again.
We already know there will be plaques — so many plaques — embossed Gerald Dempsey “Buster” Posey. You won't be able to walk 10 feet at the park without seeing one, which is just.
But it will all seem incomplete. So for now, let's follow in Posey's footsteps. Let's be understated and classy:
Thank you Buster. There will never be another Giant like you. We were lucky to have you.