![]() Posey was flanked by his wife, Kristen, Giants chairman Greg Johnson, team president Larry Baer and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.Īt one point Zaidi turned to Posey to ask a question. "It was getting to the point that things that I was enjoying were not as joyful anymore." It's hard to enjoy it as much when there is physical pain that you're dealing with. "I want to do more stuff from February to November with family," Posey said in a news conference. He is the first catcher in MLB history to hit. Posey, 34, was a seven-time All-Star, including in his final season when he hit. Longtime San Francisco Giants star Buster Posey said the desire to spend more time with his family combined with the physical toll of playing catcher led him to retire Thursday following a 12-year MLB career. San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey retires, citing family, physical toll of game But there will be no doubting his legacy and the respect and affection Giants faithful will retain.Īs one said on Twitter: “I will accept this plan under the condition that he is retiring from baseball so that he can represent us in the Senate.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]() In a sport where players generally have to be pulled from the clubhouse, kicking and screaming, Buster is leaving with his head up, his reputation intact and his expression unchanged.įans will be disappointed, of course. There will be no sad final season down the road, when an aging Posey can’t catch up to the fastball and his playing time is limited. ![]() And you also know that his family is a big part of making the decision.īut mostly, it is so impressive that an elite player of his abilities, who has achieved nearly every important award and goal in the game, has decided he’s done enough and is going to walk away. You know he’s given retirement some careful thought. Lincecum, frankly, looked absolutely shocked.īecause he saved it for the right moments.Īnd this, finally, is also the right moment. When the last out was recorded, stoic, even-keel Posey rushed the mound and enveloped Lincecum in what became known as a “Buster hug.” They’ll think of him behind the plate for three no-hitters and Matt Cain’s perfect game in 2012.įor indelible memories, it is hard to beat July 13, 2013, when Tim Lincecum needed 148 pitches to complete his no-no. “I save it for the right moments,” he deadpanned.Īctually, for a lot of Posey fans, it won’t be the six career walk-off hits or the critical home runs they’ll remember. Huh, people said, that was out of character. Standing at first, he pumped his fist and actually yelled. He singled to center, of course, driving in the two go-ahead runs for a lead the Giants never lost. Last month, one win away from clinching the National League West pennant, Posey came to bat with the bases loaded in the third. He’s definitely sarcastic, and teammates learned to be on guard for a snarky one-liner.Īnd yet, once in a blue moon, he let the emotions flow. It’s a shame, because he can be pretty funny. Once the games started, we got straight vanilla from Buster. It’s too distracting to have to come up with entertaining quotes all the time. Then he added, “I was just fortunate to get a good pitch to hit and got the barrel of the bat on it.”Īt this point we’d say, “Don’t ever change, Buster,” but it is obvious he never will.Īs one of his teammates said this year, “Buster’s heartbeat is just a little slower than the rest of us.”īuster actually admitted to me at a pre-season media session that he was boring on purpose during the season. “It’s kind of weird running about the bases and didn’t really hear a sound,” he said at the time. Even Posey noticed how Great American Ball Park went still when the ball cleared the fence. ![]() Instead, he became an All-Star, won the batting title, was named MVP and hit a stadium-silencing grand slam in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Reds. It ended his season, just 45 games in, and there was serious speculation he’d never play again. The crash fractured his leg and tore ligaments in his ankle, necessitating surgery. The first was after his horrific injury in a collision at home plate in 2011. ![]() And then, in the most jaw-dropping announcement until today, he said he’d decided not to play the season.īut he returned this year, kicked butt, and, naturally, was named National League Comeback Player of the year - for the second time. Before the 2020 season, after his wife Kristen and he adopted two babies with medical conditions, he gave the situation - and the outbreak of the pandemic - some thought. ![]()
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