Sergio Romo saw it coming. Kind of.
The baseball world received a shock Wednesday when The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported that Buster Posey would announce his retirement Thursday. Following the news, Romo joined 95.7 The Game's “Damon & Ratto” to share his instant reaction and talk about the good ol’ days with Buster. Check out the full interview below:
Romo spent seven seasons in San Francisco pitching to Buster Posey as a reliever. When you’re battery mates for that long you can read each other’s body language and non-verbal cues.
So when Romo saw the Giants clinching the division with win No. 107 in Game 162 earlier this year, he noticed the way Posey reacted.
“Buster was the only one just standing there,” Romo said. “He was just looking around. He had this ‘I’m enjoying this moment’ look on his face and I was blown away by that. It was something that was obvious to me and my family.”
So what was his reaction to Wednesday’s news?
“It was mixed,” Romo said. “It was a half surprise and half, I’ve seen this coming.”
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Romo and Posey will forever be connected by the final out of the 2012 World Series, when the right-hander caught Miguel Cabrera looking in the top of the 10th to secure the trophy. That moment, of course, was followed up with a patented #BusterHug.
Romo spent last season with the Oakland A’s bullpen but said he kept tabs on the Giants last year.
“It’s surprising from a fan’s standpoint,” Romo said. “Because I think the guy’s got a lot of baseball left.”
In all, Romo threw to Posey in 263 games throughout his career, by far the most to any single catcher. He had a 2.17 ERA in those 224 1/3 innings and they won three titles together.