One year after playing a veteran role on a franchise-record 107-win Giants team and riding off into retirement, Buster Posey is rejoining the franchise as part of another group, the ownership partners.
This time, he’ll be the least experienced person on the roster.
At age 35, he’ll be the youngest member of the Giants’ board of directors and the newest of a 31-partner ownership group. The Giants announced the addition Wednesday morning.
“I feel deeply connected to the Giants and the San Francisco Bay Area and hope that my perspective as a former player will be beneficial in growing the game and assisting the organization to build the next championship team both on and off the field,” Posey said in a release from the team.
Posey will be the first former Giants player to join the team as an owner, a move that has become less rare in sports in recent years.
Posey was a seven-time All-Star, MVP and rookie of the year over 12 seasons for the Giants, and just the fifth Giant to play his whole career for the franchise. He was a key piece for three World Series-winning teams, managing a star-studded pitching staff as the team’s everyday catcher and contributing at the plate as one of the most solid batters in each of the three championship lineups.
Giants chairman Greg Johnson noted in the team’s release that when Posey retired last November, he said he wanted to stay involved with the franchise, and later approached the team about an ownership stake.
“I’m excited to have Buster serve on our Board of Directors where his unique perspective and valuable insights will be a benefit to both our business and baseball decisions,” Johnson said. “His lived experience within the organization, from the clubhouse to the community, will further make him a great thought partner for me, Larry, Farhan and others.”
Posey earned $153.9 million in his playing career, per SpoTrac.com. According to Forbes, which recently listed the Giants’ franchise valuation at $3.5 billion, Posey “owned significant equity” in the sports drink company BodyArmor, which was bought by Coca-Cola last year for $5.6 billion.
Source: www.mercurynews.com