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Post by holiday613 on Nov 3, 2021 18:46:47 GMT -5
Have to respect a family man but this sure is going to hurt.. He was the heart and soul of this team and will be greatly missed.. Welcome Joey Bart!! No pressure!!!
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Post by reedonly on Nov 3, 2021 19:19:06 GMT -5
Good tribute holiday. Also retires over .300 which is a big deal for some players.
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Post by Islandboagie on Nov 3, 2021 20:52:16 GMT -5
I hope they at least convince Posey to be a part time instructor this spring to help Bart.
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Post by klaiggeb on Nov 4, 2021 8:49:22 GMT -5
My best guess is that to help Joey Bart with the major league staff, they will retain Curt casali.
I know that won't be popular with many on the board, but he knows the Giants pitchers, and he's a veteran who can help the young kid.
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Post by sharksrog on Nov 4, 2021 15:19:55 GMT -5
Buster is a great human being, but I was surprised when Dieter Kurtenbach -- a writer I highly respect -- called him in the top three SF Giants along with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds. I believe Dieter forgot Juan Marichal and Willie McCovey. Other than that quartet of excellent players though, I can't think of any SF Giants who were better than Buster.
Early in the 2000's when we put together our top all-time SF Giants by position, catcher and shortstop stood out as the weakest positions. Then in 2008 the Giants drafted Buster and Brandon Crawford, and now those two spots are well filled -- especially catcher, where Buster probably ranks in the top 10 or 12 of all time. He retires with the same .302 career average as Willie Mays, and I don't think there are more than four or five catchers who have retired above .300.
When I think of the catchers during my lifetime, I can think of only Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Ivan Rodriguez and perhaps Mike Piazza as being better than Buster. Possibly Joe Mauer.
The Giants are fortunate that Joey Bart should be ready to replace Buster. When Buster took over for Bengie Molina, he had just turned 23 years old. Joey will be 25 to begin next season.
One of my own favorite days as a Giants fan came on April 10, 2009, when I saw Buster catch Madison Bumgarner for the first time. I believe it was the first time I had seen Buster catch, and it definitely was the first time I had seen Madison. The Giants now have prospects as good or better than since Buster and Madison were called up, which is exciting.
I would think the $22 million freed up by Buster's not returning should put the return of Brandon Belt over the top. The Giants already had salary flexibility, and now they have more than they've had perhaps since they signed Barry Bonds.
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