Giants adjust as they go through spring without Posey originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Throughout the week, everything has seemed normal at Scottsdale Stadium.
There is the crack of the bat, the heavy thump of fastballs hitting gloves, the crowds of coaches gathered around iPads and the smiles, mostly the smiles. That's what Giants executives and coaches have talked about since camp started a week ago. It's just good to be back, to have the lockout put completely in the rearview mirror, and to return to normal day-to-day life two years after spring training was interrupted by a pandemic, and they've rarely seen a happier group of players.
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Everything feels like spring training, but when the first game started on Friday night, there was a reminder that this is not a normal spring for the San Francisco Giants. The scoreboard showed a graphic for Buster Posey Day at Oracle Park.
The Giants will celebrate Posey on May 7, and that weekend will likely be the most time he spends around the clubhouse this year. For the first time since 2008, the Giants are going through camp at Scottsdale Stadium without Posey, who was a non-roster invitee as a first-round pick the next spring.
"It's definitely weird without him," first baseman Brandon Belt said. "But he definitely keeps in contact with all of us. He's going to be here in spirit and let us know when we do something wrong."
Posey set the tone on a daily basis for over a decade, particularly in the clubhouse. He always had a locker tucked up near the doorway, and for years young pitchers would sneak glances over before finally working up the courage to go introduce themselves. Other veterans moved in and out of the neighboring spots, with guys like Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong giving way to Madison Bumgarner and Hunter Pence.
"Obviously you walk in and you always know where Buster's locker is," right-hander Tyler Beede said. "You look there and he's not there. I love Bus -- I know that he misses being here, but it's hard. It's hard to walk in and you don't see essentially the leader of the clubhouse the last 11 years. Right when you walk in and see his nameplate isn't there, it's kind of different."
The Giants will do their best to replace Posey's production at the plate with rookie Joey Bart and veteran Curt Casali, who looks like a different guy physically in his second spring with the team. They are confident they'll have a good catching situation, but they know there's no making up for what isn't here. Posey is going to the Hall of Fame for much more than the 1,500 hits and 158 homers.
"You're not going to replace Buster Posey's leadership, you're not going to replace his contributions on the field with just one person," manager Gabe Kapler said. "We're not replacing Buster Posey with Buster Posey Version Two. It doesn't exist. Instead, we'll look to fill those gaps with the group and we'll look to fill those gaps by being really intentional about taking on some of those characteristics as a team."
It may seem like an impossible hole to fill, but Kapler is confident that the Giants will be just fine in the leadership department. The Brandons and Evan Longoria already held similar roles, and Kapler often brings up Wilmer Flores as someone who takes on a huge role behind the scenes.
The rotation is full of veterans, and the Giants are confident Logan Webb will develop into a vocal presence and set the tone for future groups of starting pitchers. Casali was immediately a leader in the clubhouse last year, and coaches say Bart has grown by leaps and bounds since his debut two years ago.
In general, Kapler just wants the whole group to "turn up the volume," saying replacing everything Posey did behind the scenes will be a collective approach. That was seen on the first full day of camp, when the infielders and catchers worked on throwing to bases. It's a drill that usually would have Posey front and center, but when a young catcher mistimed a throw to third and fired it into left field, it was Longoria who yelled over that he needed to make the throw and just trust that his third baseman would get to the bag on time.
The 2020 season, when Posey opted out and Bart took over as starter, gave the Giants a hint of what was to come one day, but few in the organization expected this kind of camp to happen this quickly. Belt said Posey told him often last year that he was going to retire, but Belt didn't take him seriously, responding that Posey was playing too well to hang them up.
"I was a little shocked, even though he told us every day of the season last year that he was going to retire," he said. "But still, somebody competing at a high level like that, for me it was still a little bit unexpected. He was still so good, such a leader in our clubhouse, such a great personality in the clubhouse."
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Posey was already the face of the franchise when Belt and Crawford arrived in 2011, but the two are now the longest-tenured Giants, with Belt edging Crawford by a few weeks of service time. They still talk to him often, and others in the clubhouse said Posey, who is moving back to Georgia, had been in touch and would continue to be a resource.
"He's just kind of that father figure in the clubhouse and he has wisdom about life and baseball," Webb said. "Being able to talk to him about that stuff is the stuff I'll miss the most, but he's one phone call away and I'm sure he's going to be around a bunch. I'm excited to see him. I know he's having a good time being retired, but I'm definitely going to miss him."
Webb was an easy choice to start Friday's spring opener and will soon be named the opening day starter. When he looks in from the mound on April 8, he'll see Bart, who has a locker not far from Posey's old one. The corner locker, though, was taken by someone else. Posey might be gone, but the self-proclaimed Captain is still around.
"He's passing the torch," Belt said, laughing. "I mean, I'm the guy now. I think that's the most important thing."
