Weekend BP: End of an era?

Good morning, baseball fans!

Back in 2021, San Francisco Giants fans were taken by surprise when Buster Posey announced his unexpected retirement. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Posey’s departure was the closing door on the championship era of Giants baseball. Or the Posey era. I tend to think the two overlap enough to be the same thing, but I digress.

After that, there were only two players left who had been on any of the World Series winning teams, and 2022 saw the departure of Brandon Belt from the team, but not the game.

However, this winter, Giants fans could be facing a future of not just Giants baseball but all baseball without either of the Brandons. And for me, that’s a bummer. And a stark reminder of my own mortality. But that’s beside the point.

Belt had a heck of a season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, whereas Brandon Crawford had his worst career season back in the bay. And both have said that they don’t know if they will be returning next year.

While Belt had the better season going into free agency, he’s also sustained significant physical injuries over the years, something that factored into Posey’s decision as well. Meanwhile, it’s unclear what the market would be for Crawford, if he decides to wade into free agency for the first time.

I don’t believe we’ll see him back with the Giants, either way, so this is yet another reminder, for me at least, to appreciate watching your favorite athletes while you can, because you just never know when you’ve seen them play their final game.