Catcher/First
Baseman, San Francisco Giants
Age: 25
3rd season
with Giants
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 213
Prior to 2012:
A native of
Leesburg, Georgia, Gerald Dempsey Posey inherited the nickname “Buster” from
his father. A star pitcher and shortstop at Lee County High School, Posey chose
to attend Florida State University in 2005 rather than sign with the Angels,
who drafted him in the 50th round that year. He shifted to catcher
as a sophomore and won the Golden Spikes Award as a junior as the top
collegiate baseball player as he batted .346 with 26 home runs and 93 RBIs. In
one 2008 game, he was the starting catcher and went on to play all nine
positions. Chosen by the Giants fifth overall in the 2008 amateur draft, he
signed for a $6.2 million bonus. Playing 10 games with teams at the Rookie and
Class A levels in ’08, Posey batted .351 with a home run and 6 RBIs. He also
played winter ball in Hawaii and in 2009 went from advanced Class A to AAA, hitting
a combined .325 with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs, earning a late-season call-up to
the Giants. He started the 2010 season in Class AAA until promoted due to an
injury to starting catcher Benjie Molina, who he quickly supplanted. He ended
up hitting .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs as the Giants topped the NL West
and went on to win the World Series. Posey was named NL Rookie of the Year. He
had impressed as a rookie with his strong throwing arm and ability to handle
the pitching staff. His 2011 season was cut short when he suffered a broken leg
in a home plate collision in May after only 45 games. He thus finished at .284
with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs.
2012 Season Summary
Appeared in 148
games
C – 114, 1B – 29,
PH – 5, DH – 3
[Bracketed numbers
indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 610
At Bats – 530
Runs – 78
Hits – 178 [8,
tied with David Wright]
Doubles – 39 [8,
tied with Yonder Alonso]
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 24
RBI – 103 [6]
Bases on Balls
– 69 [10]
Int. BB – 7 [15,
tied with eight others]
Strikeouts – 96
Stolen Bases – 1
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .336
[1]
OBP - .408 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.549 [3]
Total Bases – 291
[7, tied with Adam LaRoche]
GDP – 19 [2,
tied with Martin Prado, Brandon Phillips & David Freese]
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 9
[1, tied with five others]
League-leading
batting average was +.009 ahead of runner-up Andrew McCutchen
League-leading
OBP was +.008 ahead of runner-up Andrew McCutchen
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 10, RBI – 43, AVG – .289, SLG PCT - .458
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 7/21 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) at Washington 7/10,
(in 5 AB) at Colorado 8/3
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
Most HR, game –
1 on 24 occasions
HR at home – 7
HR on road – 17
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Atlanta 7/17
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 4 (.250) with 1 RBI & 1 BB
Fielding (C )
Chances – 932
Put Outs – 855
Assists – 69
Errors – 8
DP – 9
Pct. - .991
Postseason
Batting: 16 G (NLDS vs. Cincinnati, 5 G, NLCS vs. St. Louis, 7 G, World Series
vs. Detroit, 4 G)
PA – 68, AB – 60,
R – 5, H – 12, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 3, RBI – 9, BB – 8, IBB – 1, SO – 15, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .200, OBP - .294, SLG - .350, TB – 21, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
NL Comeback
Player of the Year
Silver Slugger
All-Star:
(Started for NL at C )
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Buster Posey,
SF: 422 points - 27 of 32 first place votes, 94% share
Ryan Braun, Mil.:
285 points – 3 first place votes, 64% share
Andrew
McCutchen, Pitt.: 245 points – 55% share
Yadier Molina,
StL.: 241 points – 2 first place votes, 54% share
Chase Headley,
SD: 127 points – 28% share
---
Giants went 94-68 to finish first in the NL Western Division by 8 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, while leading the league in triples (57). The Giants battled the Dodgers and nailed down the NL West title during a 19-8 September. Posey became the first catcher to win the NL batting title in 70 years. Won NLDS over the Cincinnati Reds, 3 games to 2. Won NLCS over the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3. Won World Series over the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 0.
Aftermath of 2012:
In 2013 Posey signed an eight-year contract extension for $159 million. He had a poor second half as San Francisco fell out of contention, finishing at .294 with 34 doubles, 15 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .371 on-base percentage, and still placed twentieth in league MVP balloting. The Giants returned to the postseason as a wild card entry in 2014 and went on to win the World Series. Posey hit .311 with 22 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a .364 OBP while remaining a quality defensive backstop. He placed sixth in NL MVP voting. San Francisco missed the postseason in 2015 but Posey batted .318 with 19 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .379 OBP while being used more at first base to reduce wear and tear. He received his only Gold Glove in 2016, in a year in which he hit .288 with 14 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .362 OBP. The Giants were a last-place club in 2017 despite Posey batting .320 with a .400 on-base percentage along with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs. Following injury-riddled seasons in 2018 and ’19, Posey sat out the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Posey returned for one last season in 2021, in which he hit .304 with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a .390 OBP for a Giants team that won 107 games. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Giants, he batted .302 with 1500 hits that included 293 doubles, 9 triples, and 158 home runs. He scored 663 runs and compiled 729 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .460 slugging percentage. Appearing in 58 postseason games, Posey hit .252 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs. Posey was a seven-time All-Star and received five Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove. A key member of championship teams, his all-around ability as a hitter and catcher made him a much-appreciated player.
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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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