There are no guarantees the Major League Baseball season starts on time, but that hasn’t stopped the Giants from planning a May 7 ceremony to honor retired catcher Buster Posey.
The club announced Wednesday that fans will have their first chance to celebrate Posey’s legendary career in person ahead of a Saturday matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Plans ahead of the 4:15 p.m. scheduled start of the game include a pregame ceremony, a commemorative collector’s print giveaway for ticket-holders and “other festivities,” but it does not appear as if the Giants plan to immediately enshrine Posey on their Wall of Fame outside Oracle Park or retire his No. 28 jersey. Last week, the team announced it will retire Will Clark’s No. 22 on July 30, which suggests that even if Posey is not eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Giants will still take his No. 28 out of circulation.
In 2018, Barry Bonds became the first former Giants player who is not enshrined in the Hall of Fame to have his jersey retired while Clark will be the second.
Posey announced his retirement in November following a career with the franchise that began when the Giants selected him fifth overall in the 2008 MLB amateur draft. During his tenure in San Francisco, Posey led the Giants to their greatest heights, winning three World Series titles while also earning the 2012 MVP Award, a Gold Glove, five Silver Slugger Awards and seven All-Star nods.
The 34-year-old catcher stepped away from the game following one of the best seasons of his career as Posey hit .304 with 18 home runs and an .889 OPS for a Giants team that set a franchise record with 107 wins in 2021.
It’s possible Posey will be back at Oracle Park later in the 2022 season as the Giants have planned a 10-year reunion for the 2012 World Series championship team on Saturday, Aug. 13 prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
All ceremonies and planned giveaways are contingent on MLB owners and the Players Association reaching an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. After the owners implemented a lockout on Dec. 2, discussions between the two sides have reportedly led to little progress toward a deal and the on-time start of the regular season is now in jeopardy.
Giants pitchers and catchers were initially expected to report to spring training in Scottsdale next week, but those plans are on hold and likely to remain that way as there are no bargaining sessions between the owners and the Players Association scheduled for this week.
Source: www.mercurynews.com