Posey and his world champion teammates officially got back to
work Monday, as pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale
Stadium.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – At the World Series victory parade in November, when hundreds of thousands of Giants fans gathered to experience a mass intoxication of joy, Buster Posey remained as stoic and sober as ever.
“Let’s enjoy this today, tomorrow, maybe a week or a month … then let’s get back to work and make another run at it,” said the 23-year-old catcher, punctuating it with the most famous podium slap in Giants history.
Posey and his world champion teammates officially got back to work Monday, as pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale Stadium. And while he wouldn’t change a word he said at the parade, he does wish to clarify the remarks.
“Oh, yeah, I still hear about it—a lot,” Posey said of his microphone-rattling slap. “I don’t want anyone to think I didn’t understand the magnitude of what we did. It was history. It was the first in San Francisco, and so many people waited so long to experience that.
“What I meant is, we all start with a clean slate. Each year, you come in with the same hunger and know you’ve got a long road ahead. That’s what we’re here to do.”
A year ago, Posey reported to camp as Bengie Molina’s understudy. He didn’t know if he would start the season with the big club or at Triple-A Fresno. He was confused but didn’t protest when Giants officials asked him to take ground balls at first base.
It’s all different now. Posey, following his May 29 promotion, earned the NL Rookie of the Year Award and deftly guided a staff that pitched the Giants to an NL West title, followed by three tense postseason series victories. He became the first rookie catcher to bat in the middle of the lineup for a World Series winner since Yogi Berra in 1947.
Want one reason to think the Giants could be better in 2011? How about a whole season’s worth of Posey behind the plate?
“I tell you what, it does create quite a sense of confidence to see Buster walk through here, knowing he’s going to be the guy,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’ll be a different spring for him. He won’t have to hang around, catch a bunch of bullpens and play in the late innings. Now it’s all about preparing for him.”
The pitching staff belongs to Posey now, with no introductions necessary. He earned their trust last season, although in Tim Lincecum’s case, it didn’t happen overnight.
“The pitcher-catcher interaction is about being on the same page, yeah, but it’s also having conviction in each pitch he calls,” said Lincecum, who lost all five of his starts in a miserable August before dominating the rest of the way. “After awhile, I learned to trust that he knew these hitters and he’d studied them.”
What changed in their relationship from Lincecum’s winless August to everything that followed?
“Not much, really,” Posey said. “I just felt confident. Being behind the plate, you’ve got to be. These pitchers can’t see any hesitation with you. They have to see that you’re confident with what you’re calling. With that, it got better as it went along. We just came together as a group. We just went out and clicked.”
During those times when it wasn’t clicking, Lincecum learned something about Posey, too. Whether it involved a walk to the mound or a quick visit in the dugout, the rookie wasn’t afraid to challenge the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
“That takes (guts), and that’s fine with me,” Lincecum said. “A lot of times, I was out there wondering and hoping. I wanted somebody to come out and wake me up. That’s what my dad always did when I’d throw my arms up. He’d say, ‘Do you want to pitch or sit on the bench?’
“Buster has this calmness about him. You come to realize that he’s a student of the game, and not only that, but he’s the epitome of a true professional. He was wide-eyed last spring—well, a little bit, maybe—but that’s where the chemistry of this clubhouse made a difference. Regardless of what anyone has accomplished, we’re all equals in here.
“I want to know what he has to say, because he’s a smart kid. And he’s not afraid to say it.”
Posey should be even more emboldened now. The old-school rule is that rookies are meant to be seen and not heard. Posey isn’t a rookie any longer. And everyone already knows he can punctuate a sentence.
“He was looking forward to next year even while we were celebrating,” Bochy said. “It was not surprising, knowing Buster. But it said a lot.”
— Story by Andrew Baggarly, San Jose Mercury News
