12/03/2021

Buster Posey, a future Hall of Famer?

Buster Posey announced his retirement after being with the Giants for 12 seasons. More than 10 years ago, I bought some packs of baseball cards and found a rookie card of Buster Posey. It indicated that Posey was the Giants most-heralded offensive prospect. Back then, I was just thinking how good he would be.

Now, let’s see how good Posey has been in these 12 years. In Posey’s career, he slashed .302/.372/.460 with 158 home runs and 729 RBI. He played 1371 games and has 1500 hits in his career. He’s a 7-time All-Star and he won the 2012 NL MVP award. And, of course, nobody can ignore that he won three World Series Champions with the Giants. From 2009 to 2021, Miguel Cabrera led the majors with 1965 hits. Posey’s 1500 hits ranked 26th.

Hits (2009-2021)

Rank

Player

H

1

Miguel Cabrera

1965

2

Robinson Cano

1953

#

25

Shin-Soo Choo

1523

26

Buster Posey

1500

27

Matt Kemp

1493

Additionally, Albert Pujols led the majors with 1173 RBI from 2009 to 2021. Although Posey decided to opt out last season, his 729 RBI still ranked 38th among all players.

Runs Batted In (2009-2021)

Rank

Player

RBI

1

Albert Pujols

1173

2

Nelson Cruz

1156

#

37

Matt Holliday

737

38

Buster Posey

729

39

Josh Donaldson

728

Meanwhile, Yadier Molina has 1657 hits from 2009 to 2021, leading among all MLB catchers. Posey’s 1500 hits are the 2nd most.

Hits (Catcher, 2009-2021)

Player

H

Yadier Molina

1657

Buster Posey

1500

Joe Mauer

(Retired in 2018)

1470

Kurt Suzuki

1195

Salvador Perez

1161

At the same time, Yadier Molina collected 789 RBI from 2009 to 2021, leading among all MLB catchers. Buster Posey had 729 RBI, ranking 2nd.

Runs Batted In (Catcher, 2009-2021)

Player

RBI

Yadier Molina

789

Buster Posey

729

Brian McCann

723

Salvador Perez

656

Kurt Suzuki

634

Without doubts, Posey is one of best offensive catchers in his generation. Even though he didn’t have as many hits as Yadier Molina did from 2009 to 2021, his batting average of .302 is higher than Molina’s batting average of .285 during this period. So, will Buster Posey become a Hall of Famer? Firstly, let’s take a look at the stats of those catchers who were inducted to the Hall of Fame. In total, 19 catchers have been inducted to the Hall Fame. Since 2016, Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez and Ted Simmons are the only catchers to have been inducted to the Hall of Fame. Ted Simmons was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Modern Baseball Era Committee. Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez were elected to the Hall of Fame by BBWAA. Buster Posey didn’t play as many games as Mike Piazza or Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. He didn’t have as many hits or home runs as Piazza or Pudge Rodriguez, either. However, Posey owned a higher batting average than Pudge Rodriguez and his OPS of .831 is higher than Pudge’s OPS of .798. As the stats showed, it might not be easy for Posey to be voted into Cooperstown.

Career Stats

 

Buster Posey

Mike Piazza

Ivan Rodriguez

G

1371

1912

2543

H

1500

2127

2844

HR

158

427

311

RBI

729

1335

1332

BA

.302

.308

.296

OPS

.831

.922

.798

Now, let’s look at advanced stats. According to the stats found on the great baseball reference website, I-Rod’s career WAR is over 60 and Piazza’s WAR is nearly 60. Posey’s WAR is under 50. Nonetheless, Posey’s career OPS+ is 129 and is higher than Pudge Rodriguez’s career 106 OPS+. Additionally, I went to check on the great Fangraphs website, Posey has a 129 wRC+, which is higher than Ivan Rodriguez’s 104 wRC+.

Career Advanced Stats

 

Buster Posey

Mike Piazza

Ivan Rodriguez

bWAR

44.9

59.5

68.7

OPS+

129

143

106

wRC+

129

140

104

Well, Ivan Rodriguez played 21 years in the MLB and Mike Piazza played nearly 2000 games over 16 years. Buster Posey, who won the 2021 NL Comeback Player of the Year, announced his retirement at age 34 and only played 12 years in the majors. Even though it seems that he can still play a few more seasons, he decided to retire. He didn’t have 2000 hits or collect 1000 RBI as Mike Piazza or Ivan Rodriguez did. Nonetheless, his OPS+ and wRC+ have shown that he’s a great offensive catcher. He shall not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but let’s see until 2027.

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