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Buster Posey's Brief Biography 

Growing up in Georgia

Buster Posey (whose real name is Gerald Dempsey Posey) was born on March 28, 1987 in Leesburg, GA, a small town in the southwest part of the state.

He was raised in the same area where he was born, and played multiple sports at Lee County High School.

In 2005 he was even named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia.

After high school, Posey went to Florida State University (FSU) to play baseball.

During his freshman year at FSU, he actually played Shortstop. It was during his Sophomore year that he transitioned to catcher.

Posey had a strong sophomore season and an even better junior year.

That year he hit .463 and he won both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.

With the Giants

Posey was selected in the first round, fifth overall, by the San Francisco Giants in 2008. 

He played 10 minor league games in 2008 and sped his way through the Giants' farm system in 2009.

Buster made his big league debut late in 2009, and in his first full season in the majors he left quite an impression. He hit .305 in 2010, helped the Giants win the World Series and was named the National League's (NL) Rookie of the Year.

Big things were expected of Posey in 2011, but his season was surprisingly cut short in May when Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins barreled him over on a play at the plate. It broke his fibula and ended his season early.

MVP and More World Series Wins

Buster came back with a vengeance in 2012. He won the NL batting title with a .336 average, hit a career high 24 home runs and 103 RBIs, and led the Giants to another World Series ring. In recognition of his great season, he was named the 2012 NL MVP. 

Of note, Posey's 10.1 WAR in 2012 was the highest single season WAR (fWAR, to be precise) of any catcher in baseball history.

Though he didn't match his 2012 numbers in 2013, he still had an all star season that year. 

Buster's numbers improved the following season, and he hit .311/.364/.490.

He helped lead the Giants back to the World Series in 2014 where they won in an exciting seven games against the Kansas City Royals.

It was their third championship in just five years.

Last Years of His Career

Posey had impressive, productive seasons year after year for the Giants, including the last few seasons that he played. 

He was an all star from 2015 - 2018 and in this same timeframe he collected two Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove award.

Buster had a rare down year in 2019, hitting "just" .257 with just seven home runs and 38 RBIs.

He sat out the following year as he was on the opt out list due to the pandemic.

Buster's final MLB season came in 2021.

In classic fashion, the 34 year old Posey hit .304 with 18 home runs and went out with a silver slugger award.

He retired after the 2021 season.

10 Interesting Facts About Buster Posey's Career 

What Pitcher Did Buster Posey Face the Most in his Career?

The pitcher he faced the most in his career was Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Posey had approximately 113 at bats against Kershaw during his career.

What Pitcher Did he Get the Most Hits Off Of?

The pitcher he got the most hits off of in his career was Clayton Kershaw, with 25 career hits. Second is Ian Kennedy with 17 hits, and third is Patrick Corbin with 16 hits.

What Was his Longest Hitting Streak?

Buster had a 21 game hit streak during his rookie year, which turned out to be the longest streak of his career.

It lasted from July 4 to July 28, 2010. During that span he had 84 at bats, 37 hits, 6 home runs and 23 RBIs.

What's the Most Hits he Got in a Game?

The most hits he ever got in a single game was five, which he did twice. The first was July 8, 2013 against the New York Mets, and the second was on August 29, 2014 versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

Did he ever Have a Multi-Steal Game?

Posey stole two bases in a single game once, which was the only multi-steal game of his career.

It took place on August 6, 2017 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, both off of pitcher Patrick Corbin.

Did Buster Posey ever Catch a No Hitter?

Yes. Buster actually caught a total of three no hitters during his career, one of which was a rare perfect game.

That perfect game was his first, and it was tossed by Matt Cain on June 13, 2012.

The next year, in July, he caught a Tim Lincecum no hitter. Lastly, in June of 2015 he caught a no hitter thrown by Chris Heston.

Did he Get Drafted out of High School?

Yes, he was drafted out of high school in 2005 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 50th round. 

He elected to go to college instead - good choice, considering he was a top five pick just three short years later.

What's the Most RBIs he Got in a Game?

He had two games with six RBIs each, which were career highs. 

One of those games took place during his hitting streak on July 7, 2010, and the other happened on May 28, 2016 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

How Much Did Buster Posey Earn During his Career?

He earned $171,301,112 over the course of his playing career. Please note this amount is salary and does not include endorsements and sponsorships.

What Records and Awards Does he Have?

Based on our detailed post on catchers statistics, Buster owns or shares a number of key records and awards among catchers. 

They're listed here in no particular order. 

• Most Runs From Extra Strikes in a Season by a Catcher: 30 runs from extra strikes in 2016.
• Catcher to Win a Batting Title: NL title in 2012
• Comeback Player of the Year Award: Two-time winner, in 2012 and 2021.
• Catchers to win Dick Howser Trophy: 2008
• Catchers to win Golden Spikes Award: 2008
• NL Catcher to Win MVP: 2012
• NL Catcher to Win NL Rookie of the Year: 2010
• Catchers with Multiple Silver Slugger Awards: Five-time winner
• Catchers with Multiple Wilson Defensive Players of the Year Award: Two-time winner
• Highest Single-Season Salary by a Catcher in a Season: $22,177,778 in 2021

 

Posey's Hall of Fame Case

How He Compares To Existing Hall of Fame Catchers

Posey will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026. As you'd expect, many people wonder how his career stacks up with catchers already in the Hall of Fame.

We crunched the numbers in order to give you some good comparisons. 

In our detailed article on catchers in the Hall of Fame, we identify 16 career catchers who earned their place in Cooperstown based on their major league records. We purposefully did not include the three HOF catchers from the Negro Leagues (Gibson, Mackey and Santop) because Negro League records tend not to be as historically consistent and robust as MLB records.

So, when it comes to these 16 legendary catchers already enshrined in Cooperstown, how does Buster Posey compare?

Let's take a look at some key statistical categories:

• WAR (bWAR): 44.8 is 12th out of 16 (higher than Bresnahan, Campanella, Lombardi, Schalk, Ferrell)
• Games: 1,371 is 14th out of 16 (more than Ewing and Campanella)
• Hits: 1,500 is 13th out of 16 (higher than Schalk, Bresnahan, Campanella)
• Home Runs: 158 is 12th out of 16 (more than Cochrane, Ewing, Ferrell, Bresnahan, Schalk)
• RBIs: 729 is 14th out of 16 (greater than Schalk, Bresnahan)
• Batting Average: .302 is 6th out of 16 (below Cochrane, Dickey, Piazza, Lombardi, Ewing)
• OPS: .831 is 6th out of 16 (lower than Piazza, Cochrane, Dickey, Campanella, Hartnett)
• Fielding Percentage as a Catcher: .995 is 1st out of 16
• Innings Caught: 9,291.2 is 14th out of 16 (higher than Bresnahan, Ewing)
• Putouts as a Catcher: 8,539 is 8th out of 16

 

It's interesting to see that Posey is not at the absolute cellar of any one statistical category, though he is close to the bottom on some. We view this to a large extent as the result of him having a relatively short big league career.

What is clear from this comparison is that the seven-time all star can hang with the Hall of Fame catchers based on statistics alone. In some specific categories like batting average and fielding percentage, he really shines.

Combined with the fact that he also owns a batting title, an MVP award and three World Series rings, our assessment is that Buster Posey will make it to the Hall of Fame. 

Will be be a first ballot Hall of Famer? Maybe not. But we do think he'll get in one day.

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Sources:

• Baseball Reference
• Baseball Savant
• Fangraphs
• Retrosheet