The end of an era has arrived in the Bay Area.
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey will announce today at 3 pm that he is retiring from baseball after twelve stellar seasons behind the plate.
Word broke yesterday that Posey would be announcing his retirement, and this writer was surprised and devastated by the news, especially after an All-Star 2021 season that saw him hit .304 (his highest average since 2017) with 18 home runs (his highest total since 2015), 56 RBIs, and 3.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which was his highest total since 2017.
Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey was a transcendent player for the San Francisco Giants. He arrived as a rookie in 2010 and promptly helped guide a young, and supremely talented pitching staff to a World Series title for the first time in 56 years, and the first time since the club moved to San Francisco from New York.
Posey would go on to lead the team to an additional two World Series titles in 2012 and 2014, establishing the Giants as Major League Baseball's first dynasty since the New York Yankees won four titles in five years from 1996-2000.
Buster was a quiet leader. He led by example, did not seek out the spotlight, and spent a lot of time giving back to the community, along with his wife Kristen, with their BP28 Foundation which was formed to help fight pediatric cancer. Arguably, his contributions off the field have been just as impactful as his contributions on it. He has meant so much to the city of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area, that it's hard to fathom his time here is over.
Posey's career numbers are impressive. He slashed .302/.372/.460 with an OPS of .831 and an OPS+ of 129. He added 158 home runs, 729 RBIs, exactly 1500 hits, 44.9 WAR, and surprisingly, 23 stolen bases (Buster Posey IS speed).
Crawford and Posey coming up clutch for the Giants ... what else is new?? pic.twitter.com/OEWKQgFmYp
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 11, 2021
It's no surprise then, that Jimmy Garoppolo referred to Buster Posey as a future Hall-of-Famer when he spoke with Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto on 95.7 The Game yesterday.
"I mean, you've just got to tip the hat to the man. He's in my opinion, definitely a Hall of Famer in the future."
Interestingly, Garoppolo was able to relate to Posey as a leader, having played catcher himself.
"I played catcher growing up a little bit, and the catcher is just kind of the heartbeat behind the team, and I couldn't think of a better guy to represent a team than Buster. He just did it the right way, and I'm really happy for him. And congratulations on the future Hall of Fame career."
I couldn't agree more.
I can't think of a better guy to represent the San Francisco Giants than Buster Posey.
He's a Forever Giant.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Garoppolo below.