Monday BP: Buster Posey Day at Oracle Park was everything it needed to be

Good morning, baseball fans!

Before Saturday’s wild ride of a game, the San Francisco Giants held a ceremony honoring everyone’s Good Friend, Buster Posey.

As is always true with the Giants organization, they know how to honor their people. So this ceremony didn’t disappoint. It was lovely, humorous, poignant, just hitting all the notes. They did a great job.

And I thought I was emotionally prepared for this. But literally the first time I saw him on my screen, it brought his absence into sharper focus. Not just his talent on the field, but his dry humor, his winning personality, his all-around presence. He filled a lot of space without taking up much of it. His style of leadership and the way he influenced others to be better wasn’t flashy. It just came from doing the work. Being the person he is.

And I think that’s what made him have the biggest impact on not just the team he played for, but the region he played in. Posey is universally respected. Spoken highly of by both his fellow baseball players, on the Giants and around the league. But also those who encountered him in the Bay Area, from professional athletes to kids who benefitted from his off-field work.

No one has a bad word to say about the guy, and so yeah, the Giants are missing his presence on the team, sure. But like, the Bay is missing his presence as a person.

When sitting in with Kruk & Kuip during the second inning of Saturday’s game, Posey discussed what his future plans are and obviously, being a dad is top priority. Posey’s older twins threw out the ceremonial first pitches of Saturday’s game, and his youngest twins, just toddlers, stole hearts across the Bay when shown during the ceremony. So he’s got a lot of dad-ing left to do.

But he also spoke about his interest in continuing his philanthropic efforts in raising money for pediatric cancer research. And when asked during a media scrum in the first inning if he thought he would end up coaching or managing in MLB, he had a roundabout answer that basically said no.

I respect that. I know he would be great at it, he knows he would be great at it. But that’s not what calls to him.

On a humorous note, director Chris Columbus (a long time Giants fan) gave Posey an actual Emmy award during the ceremony for his great work in the Spanish soap opera commercials of years gone by. So maybe that will inspire Posey to further his work in film as well. (I am kidding, but it needed to be pointed out because it was funny.)

All jokes aside, Posey had an amazing speech before the game, in which he recounted the World Series wins from his perspective and what stood out to him and honestly, it gave me chills. He’s a very talented speech writer and deliverer, and I think that lends itself extremely well to philanthropy.

And even if he chooses to go that route, he’s not going to be gone from the organization forever. He made it quite clear in his speech that he wanted his entire career to be with the Giants organization, and has said recently that at some point, he’d love to take on another role in the organization in a way that made sense with his most important role of being a husband and father.

It just, it stands out to me that we have all of these big feelings about Posey because he went out on top. We didn’t have to watch him suffer the ravages of time as we have other athletes who, understandably, want to get as many years out of the game as they can but their bodies just betray them. We got to watch Buster have an amazing season, and walk away, perfectly content, leaving the people wanting more.

I know I wrote about this at the time, but that was something that Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry noted in his initial reaction to the news that Posey was retiring. He said it’s the dream ending of any sports career. Leave it all on the field, but also leave them wanting more. I can’t think of any other athlete at Posey’s level who’s been able to accomplish this.

I miss him, but I respect the heck out of him for walking away. And I look forward to seeing what comes next, when he wants us to know about it.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants welcome the Colorado Rockies to Oracle Park tonight to kick off a three-game series at 6:45 pm.