Lee Posey, 11, left, shakes hands with Patrick Willis even though standing with his father Buster Posey through media interviews ahead of the Bay Location Sports Hall of Fame ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May well 25, 2023. The Bay Location Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is inducting Julie Foudy, Gary Payton, Buster Posey, Andre Ward and Patrick Willis. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Location News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO – Buster Posey was not just any athlete who passed by way of town, won a handful of championships, and earned a spot Thursday evening in the Bay Location Sports Hall of Fame.
It turns out he’s a legacy.
“My mom in fact lived in San Francisco when she was a toddler,” Posey stated. “My grandad was an orthopedist in the Army, and they had been stationed right here for a couple of years.”
Col. Jack Tippens and his wife, Lyn, “talked about genuinely enjoying living right here.” So did their daughter Traci’s son, Gerald “Buster” Posey III, who was drafted by the Giants 15 years ago and served as a franchise cornerstone at catcher from 2009-21.
That baseball legacy could place Posey someday into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. – “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he stated – but Thursday evening brought him to be honored in downtown San Francisco for the Bay Location Sports Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.
Joining him in this year’s class: former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, Oakland basketball legend Gary Payton, boxing champion Andre Ward, and soccer star Julie Foudy, who took particular pride in becoming the lone lady of that group whose plaques will join these displayed inside San Francisco International Airport.
“It’s bittersweet to be back, since our oldest twins are right here with us tonight, and we raised them right here, their very first 11 years of life,” Posey, 36, stated.
Getting relocated in the previous year to his native Georgia — just north of Atlanta, rather than his childhood hometown of Leesburg — Posey returned to town this previous week with his wife, Kristen, and their two sets of twins, ages 11 and two.
When they weren’t reuniting with mates back close to their old digs in Lafayette, Posey was golfing a handful of rounds at Orinda Nation Club, and, of course, maintaining an eye on the Giants, getting joined their ownership group final September.
Posey classifies himself as a fan, nonetheless, and 1 who’s thrilled at the instant accomplishment stirred by rookies Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey.
“When you have that young injection of power, it is palpable. You can really feel it by way of the Television screen,” Posey stated. “Hopefully that is a thing we can ride and win a lot extra games.
“It’s type of what occurred in 2008, ’09, ’10 and on. You have to have that stuff. Young players, a lot of time, you hear it talked about how their power can rub off on a guy who’s been performing it a even though. It is correct. That is stuff is contagious.”
It positive was as soon as Posey took more than the complete-time beginning part in 2010, when the Giants won their very first of 3 Planet Series titles more than a 5-year span.
“Aside from these 3 rings, Posey’s accolades are plentiful: seven-time All-Star, 2012 National League MVP, 2010 N.L. Rookie of the Year, two-time National League Comeback Player of the Year (2012, 2021), 2012 N.L. batting champion.
Drafted fifth all round on June five, 2008, the 1-time Florida State shortstop (freshman year) retired in November 2021. Six months later, the Giants honored him with “Buster Posey Day.” He stated he’s in fantastic well being, which is fantastic news contemplating the ankle and hip problems he overcame with the Giants.
“I’ve had adequate time now to reflect on (his profession), to be so grateful for genuinely so lots of people today that helped me along the way – teammates, coaches, wife, youngsters, parents, grandparents, most likely could go on and on,” Posey stated. “As I’ve had time to assume, what does all of this genuinely imply? It is memories with people today.”
Willis, 38, was thrilled to enter the Hall of Fame alongside Posey and identified the timing apropos. Willis was drafted in 2007 by the 49ers, and he was at the height of his seven-time Pro Bowl powers even though Posey was winning Planet Series titles.
“Buster Posey was holding it down at the catcher position for the Giants, then Stephen Curry came to the Bay Location (in 2009), and, correct about that time, I was beginning to really feel the groove,” Willis recalled. “It felt quite particular to be 1 of these pillars in the Bay Location, and now to be recognized for it, it is really an honor.”
Willis produced positive to introduce not only himself — and his sister and nieces — to Posey ahead of Thursday’s ceremony, and, in return, Lee Posey shook Willis’ hand. Then the two Bay Location sports titans talked about their southern roots — Willis is from Tennessee — and amicably chatted like old mates for 15 minutes.
What do the subsequent 15 years have in retailer for Posey?
“Oh my gosh, I’ve got 4 youngsters, so I just go day to day. I do not assume about that a lot. I genuinely do not know,” Posey answered. “I would say 15 years ago, I could most likely have answered that query extra succinctly, with an thought of what I was hopeful for.
“Now, I’m attempting to just be in the moment, enjoying every single day with the youngsters and watching them find out and develop, attempting to teach them some lessons I discovered along the way.”
Rather than coach, nonetheless, he’s develop into a “tennis dad” watching his older, 11-year-old twins compete in that sport. His son, Lee, modestly stated at Thursday’s pre-ceremony reception that he plays up a level against 14-year-olds. Asked if he wears his dad’s Planet Series rings, he humorously replied that he does not go into his dad’s secure as well typically.
About these titles, ” do not assume I would have hoped for 3. I would have hoped for 1, and hoped to have established myself as a Significant League baseball player. It is extra than something I could have dreamed of.”
