Buster Posey retires

    After a return to the game that could possibly boost his case for induction to the Hall of Fame, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey is reported to announce his retirement tomorrow according to The Athletic.

Posey bounced back from an injury-plagued 2019 that forced him into hip surgery and missed the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 with a 2021 season that put Posey in line for another possible Silver Slugger award, which would be his fifth in his career to lead the surprising Giants to over 100 wins.

The thirty-four-year-old Posey finished 2021 with a .304 average with 18 homers, 56 RBI, and an OPS of .889 which was the second-highest of Posey's career.

Posey's accolades in leaving the game at only 34 are many: Rookie of the Year, MVP, four (and maybe five) Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, a batting title, two Comeback Player of the Year awards, two defensive player of the year awards, and caught three no-hitters.

The announcement comes before Monday when the Giants were expected to officially pick up a team option for twenty-two million for 2022 to keep Posey in San Francisco.

Buster Posey became the face of the Giants franchise for a dozen years as the top position player for the franchise since Barry Bonds.

And that face helped bring San Francisco their first title since arriving in Calfornia in 1958 in 2010 with two more added in 2012 and 2014.

Posey's somewhat early retirement makes me wonder how Posey will fare in the balloting for Cooperstown when his time on the ballot.

Buster Posey is the first catcher in MLB history to hit over .300 in their final season and Posey is one of only two players (Pete Rose) to have won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, and won three World Series championships.

Baseball Reference's numbers crunchers rate Posey fourteenth among catchers in baseball history and only three of those thirteen ahead of him are not in the Hall (Joe Mauer, who has yet to appear on the ballot, Thurman Munson, and surprisingly Gene Tenace).

Mauer being a contemporary of Posey is ahead of Posey in the overall ratings, but their career numbers are very close except that Mauer has a bit over 600 hits more than Posey and that can be attributed to a longer career.

I would think that if you believe one player is deserving, then the other should receive your vote as well, but the voting for Cooperstown often evades such logic so I wouldn't be surprised if one had more trouble getting into the HOF than the other.

What may work against him is 1,500 career hits over only a dozen seasons and while I would be surprised if Posey made the Hall on the first ballot, I do believe that he will eventually be inducted into the shrine.

Posey stated at his retirement press conference that he planned all along to empty the tank for 2021 and his excellent season wasn't enough to change his mind to return for 2022 even if it meant an added twenty-two million dollars to the bank account and you have to respect that Posey wants to go out on top.

As for the Giants, I would imagine that this will be the time for Joey Bart to step up and assume the role that he was drafted for as the long-term replacement for Buster Posey behind the plate.

Bart only made six plate appearances in 2021 for the Giants, spending his season with AAA Sacramento, where he hit .294 with 10 homers and 46 RBI for the River Cats.

I haven't made it a secret that Buster Posey has been my favorite player of the decade that I wasn't fortunate enough to meet.

Most of the players that I root for are players that I met on the minor league/autograph circuit and Posey skipped the AA Eastern League as he moved quickly through the minors as he moved from the Giants High A San Jose to their then-AAA team in Fresno.

What I liked about Posey was that he always seemed to be a player that gave his all on the field yet did so in a manner that did so in the team concept, not in a look at me way that showcased him as an individual. 

Likable and a little goofy as someone not afraid to poke fun at himself to show some personality in various commercials, Buster Posey was an easy player to root for and considering his heart in two comebacks that either of which would have ended the careers of many players, fans admired the grit that he showed in returning to the field and prospering when he did so.

Buster Posey played hard, battled through adversity, and ended his career with one final great season.

One cannot beat that for a final season to cap off a career.