Giants living legend Buster Posey may have played his final game for San Francisco. The Giants catcher is expected to announce his retirement Thursday, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly.
Posey has played his entire 12-year career with the Giants and was a key part of their three World Series wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014. He slashed .302/.372/.460 with 158 career homers since debuting in 2009 and could be headed to Cooperstown with his impressive resume.
Posey, 34, was still a major force for the Giants during their 107-win campaign in 2021 with a .304/.390/.499 slash line, 18 homers and 56 RBI. This news comes as a bit of a shock, but Posey also opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns and to spend time with his wife and four children.
Posey is a seven-time All-Star, the 2012 National League MVP, four-time Silver Slugger, 2016 Gold Glover, 2012 batting champ and 2010 Rookie of the Year.
When you think of the Giants during their current era of success, Posey has been at the crux of it all. He’s caught all the great Giants pitchers over the past decade-plus -- from Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum to Madison Bumgarner and Logan Webb -- and all of them raved about his game-calling. It’s comforting to have Posey catching your pitches.
Buster endeared himself to the Giants fan base ho-hum approach throughout his career, as hype followed him ever since San Francisco drafted him with the No. 5 overall pick out of Florida State in 2008. Posey made a quick ascent to the bigs by 2009 before bursting onto the scene in May 2010 and changing the entire trajectory of the franchise.
Images of #BusterHugs following World Series wins will forever be etched into Giants lore. Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt are lone members of the World Series-winning Giants who were still with the franchise in 2021.
It’s conceivable that Posey could have a bronze statue alongside Willie Mays and Juan Marichal outside of Oracle Park one day.
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Where do the Giants go from here?
Unless the team pursues another player via free agency, veteran Curt Casali and prospect Joey Bart figure to be the team’s top options at catcher entering 2022. The 32-year-old Casali slashed just .210/.313/.350 with five homers and 26 RBIs. Bart slashed .294/.358/.472 with 10 dingers and 46 RBIs in 67 games with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
It’s Posey’s rock-solid, quiet leadership that will likely be missed the most, though. The three rings are just part of the story. It was the day-in, day-out production that made Posey so special throughout his Giants career, up until his final season.