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PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 5, 2021 KEIZERTIMES.COM #1 Buster Posey TOP 20 20 Daniel Shirey/Getty Images For the better part of the last decade, Buster Posey has been the face of the San Francisco Giants franchise. BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes The top spot on the list of the Keizertimes top 20 greatest Volcanoes players of all time goes to Buster Posey. As one of the most accomplished catch- ers of the 21st century, Posey has won four Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove to go along with his three World Series rings. Posey also was the National League (NL) Rook- ie of the Year in 2010 and the league MVP in 2012. Posey grew up in Georgia and was a four-sport athlete in high school. During his se- nior season, he was named the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, the Louisville Slugger State Player of the Year, an EA Sports All-American, and a Baseball America All-American. Posey attended Florida State University from 2006- 08 and was arguably the best player in school histo- ry. After receiving fi rst-team All-American honors in his sophomore season, Posey eas- ily established himself as the top player in the country the following year. In his junior season, Posey hit .463 with 29 homers and 93 RBIs. He won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation’s best catcher and was named the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year. He was also giv- en the Golden Spikes award as the country’s best amateur player. On May 12, 2008, Posey played all nine fi elding posi- tions and hit a grand slam in a 10-0 victory over Savannah State. Baseball America touted Posey as the best available catcher in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft — the San Francisco Giants selected Posey with the fi fth overall pick. Posey offi cially signed with the Giants on Aug. 16, 2008 and was given a $6.2 million signing bonus — which was the largest up-front signing bonus in team history. Posey only played three games with the Volcanoes in 2008. He hit two doubles and had a pair of RBIs. In 2009, Posey spent the majority of the year in Advanced Single-A in San Jose. He batted .326 with 63 runs, 95 hits, 23 dou- bles, 13 homers and 58 RBIs in 80 games. Posey was moved up to Triple-A in Fresno later in the year and hit .321 with 21 runs scored, 42 hits, eight doubles, fi ve homers and 22 RBIs in 35 games. Due to an injury to San Francisco catcher Bengie Molina, Posey was called up to join the Giants on Sept. 2, 2009. However he didn’t make his debut until Sept. 11. Posey was mainly used as a reserve to conclude the San Francisco season and only had two hits in 17 at-bats. But the follow- ing year, Posey showed the Gi- ants, and the MLB world, that he was more than prepared for the big leagues. Posey began the season in Triple-A, where he proved to be dominant over 47 games, batting .349 with 31 runs scored, 60 hits, 13 doubles, six homers and 32 RBIs. On May 29, 2010, Posey was called back up to the big leagues, and his impact with the Giants was immediate. In his fi rst game of the year, Posey went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. He hit his fi rst homer on June 9, 2010 off Aaron Ha- rang of the Cincinnati Reds. Posey mostly played fi rst base in the fi rst two months of his 2010 tenure with the Giants, but when Molina was traded to the Texas Rangers on June 30, Posey became the Giants full-time catcher. From July 1 to July 10, Posey batted .514 and had 19 hits and six homers, including his fi rst career grand slam on July 7. Posey also had 13 RBIs during the stretch, the most ever by a rookie during a 10- KEIZER CLASSIFIEDS SERVICES SERVICES MISCELLANEOUS Earthlink High Speed Internet. As Low As $14.95/month (for the fi rst 3 months.) Reliable High Speed Fiber Optic Technology. Stream Videos, Music and More! Call Earthlink Today 1-855-977-9436. ONAC DIRECTV NOW. No Satellite Needed. $40/month. 65 Channels. 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FREE Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL Devices. Call today! 1-866-373-9175. ONAC HughesNet Satellite Internet - 25mbps starting at $49.99/mo! Get More Data FREE Off-Peak Data. FAST download speeds. WiFi built in! FREE Standard Installation for lease customers! Limited Time, Call 1-888-849-2601. ONAC If it's happening in Keizer, or to someone from Keizer — WE WANT TO KNOW. kt@keizertimes.com game span — he was named NL Player of the Week for the week of July 5-11. Posey also had a 21-game hit streak during the month of July, falling one game short of the Giants rookie record, which is held by Willie Mc- Covey. He was named NL Player of the Month in July 2010. Posey fi nished the season batting .305 with 58 runs scored, 124 hits, 23 doubles, 18 homers and 67 RBIs and was named the NL Rookie of the Year — he also nearly fi nished in the top 10 for NL MVP voting. During the fi nal game of the season, Posey hit a key solo homer against the San Diego Padres to propel the Giants to the NL West division title. In the NL Division Series (NLDS), Posey batted .375 as the Giants defeated the Atlan- ta Braves in four games. Even though he was inconsistent at the plate in the NL Champi- onship Series (NLCS), Posey led the Giants to a key victory against the Philadelphia Phil- lies in game four of the series, going 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in the 6-5 victory — he was the fi rst rookie ever to record four hits in an NLCS game. In game four of the World Series, Posey and rookie bat- tery mate Madison Bumgar- Volcanoes players of all time ner became the fi rst rookie starting pitcher-catcher tan- dem in a World Series game since 1947. In the same game, Posey hit his fi rst postseason homer, leading the Giants to a 4-0 win. With the homer, Posey became the fi fth rookie catcher to ever hit a home run in the playoffs. Posey caught every inning of the 2010 postseason, help- ing the Giants to a World Se- ries title after defeating the Rangers in fi ve games. In 2011, Posey missed the majority of the season after suffering a season-ending an- kle injury on May 25. Posey was injured on a play at the plate by Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins, who collided with Posey while attempting to score on a sacrifi ce fl y — Cousins admitted later that he ran into Posey intentionally but did not intend to injure Posey. In the aftermath of the violent play, the MLB adopt- ed rule 7.13 during in 2014 — otherwise known as the “Buster Posey Rule.” The rule states that “a runner attempt- ing to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate con- tact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate). If, in the judgment of the Please see POSEY, Page A9 crossword The Complete Countdown 20 20. Matt Downs 19. Clay Hensley 18. Bryan Reynolds 17. Fred Lewis 16. Dan Otero 15. Matt Duffy 14. Jonathan Sanchez 13. Travis Ishikawa 12. Nate Schierholtz 11. Ryan Vogelsong 10. Adam Duvall 9. Kevin Correia 8. Joe Panik 7. Francisco Liriano 6. Sergio Romo 5. Brandon Crawford 4. Pablo Sandoval 3. Joe Nathan 2. Tim Lincecum 1. Buster Posey
