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San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey held a press conference on Friday morning, and dropped two big pieces of news. First, he’s opting out of the 2020 MLB season, something he was open about considering.
But he had much more important news, and news that was the catalyst for the decision to opt out: the family is expanding. Posey and his wife, Kristen, are adopting identical twin girls.
The twins were born prematurely, which is why Posey had missed four days of Summer Camp workouts thus far. While Posey said that the newborns are in good health, they are still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Posey said that the family made the decision that opting out was the right thing for everyone involved, and that things likely would have been different had the twins not been born prematurely.
Here's Buster Posey's statement today announcing he and his wife Kristen have adopted twins and also saying he will opt out of the 2020 baseball season. pic.twitter.com/vYcP0Nib27
— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) July 10, 2020
Buster Posey said he probably would have chosen to play if the babies had not been born prematurely. Purely a decision driven by a changing and sensitive family situation.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 10, 2020
Posey was joined on the conference call by president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler, who were both very supportive of the 2012 MVP’s decision.
Farhan Zaidi has his son, Jazz, on the Zoom call. It's his son's first birthday, and it looks like he's wishing for a signed Posey jersey. pic.twitter.com/wqM2OIBQCg
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 10, 2020
Farhan Zaidi and Gabe Kapler expressed full support for Buster Posey, both thanked him for support he has shown them over last two years. Kapler: "I think Buster is making an incredibly thoughtful decision for him and his family and the one that makes the most sense."
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 10, 2020
According to The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, Buster and Kristen have been trying to adopt for a few years, and that it’s been a difficult journey.
Buster and Kristen Posey have been trying to adopt for several years. They actually had a baby for a few days at one point before the birth family changed its mind. Described it as a "rollercoaster."
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 10, 2020
The twins, who are named Ada and Livvi, join the Posey’s other two children: twins that Kristen gave birth to in 2011.
If you’ve been reading this site with regularity this year, then you’re probably sick of me saying that some things are more important than baseball. But some things are more important than baseball, and welcoming two new members to the family is emphatically one of those things.
Congratulations to the Posey family. It’s good to see some good things happening to people in 2020.