PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper spent years competing against the Giants teams that Buster Posey led on the field. Now, he’ll have to contend with the teams that Buster Posey creates off the field.
“He’s got my dream job,” Harper told this news organization Monday before the Giants’ series opener with the Phillies. “Being able to be president of an organization, really cool opportunity for him. Obviously, one of the best to ever do it behind the plate. Three World Series titles, MVP, countless awards and accolades. Just an all-around good person.
“I think he’s going to do a lot of really cool things over there and kind of let everybody do their jobs as well. I think that’s a big thing. Super excited for him.”
Harper wasn’t the only Philadelphia player who shared that sentiment. Shortstop Trea Turner and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber both offered praise for Posey as well, pointing out his potential to combine the numbers with the intangibles.
“I’m excited to see how it goes because he can kind of mix the best of both worlds with analytics and the clubhouse feeling and baseball feeling and baseball smarts,” Schwarber said. “It’ll be exciting to see how things go over there and I think it’ll be a pretty cool change to see what happens.”
Added Turner: “You can’t measure chemistry and people and whatnot. Everything’s a number nowadays. I think there’s a real advantage for the old-school right now just because everyone’s so analytical. There’s always a balance needed in both of those. You definitely need to have the technology and the information, but you also need to be able to play the game. I think he’s kind of a prime example for that.”
Posey had his share of battles with Harper, Schwarber and Turner during his Hall of Fame career, meeting their teams in the playoffs at some point in his career (Schwarber was injured during the 2016 NLDS). Turner, in particular, played in Game 5 of the 2021 NLDS, the final game of Posey’s career. Schwarber recalled a particularly memorable at-bat during his rookie year when Posey was behind the plate and Jake Peavy was on the mound.
“I’m coming up to the plate at Wrigley (Field) and Peavy starts screaming at me from the mound,” Schwarber said. “I looked down at Buster and I’m like, ‘Is he talking to me?’ Buster looks up at me and he goes, ‘Yeah.’ It was funny.”
“It felt like when he was catching, you never knew what pitch was coming,” Turner said. “He was really good at calling the game and moving around. You can tell how smart he is by how he called games.”
Over the next four days, Harper, Schwarber and Turner will have to contend with a team Posey helped build, one that’s off to its best start since 2003.
The Giants enter Philadelphia fresh off taking two of three from the New York Yankees, their first series win in the Bronx since the beginning of interleague play. San Francisco’s record stands at 11-4, a mark that’s all the more impressive given most of the lineup is struggling offensively.
Jung Hoo Lee, in particular, is coming off his best series as a Giant. He totaled four hits, four walks, five runs scored, seven RBIs and three homers — two of which were hit on Sunday against Carlos Rodón.
“You bring in Willy Adames. You got Matt Chapman, they’re kind of anchoring down that infield,” Schwarber said. “Jung Hoo is playing a great center field coming off the injury and looking great. The bullpen is kind of a unique bullpen where there’s a lot of different arms and different angles. The starting pitching, you get some different looks and it’s going to be a different gameplan every day.”
Koss checks off major milestone
It wasn’t how Christian Koss imagined he’d get his first hit, but it’s a first hit he’ll take regardless.
Before Lee hit his second homer on Sunday, Koss set the table with his first major-league hit by beating out an infield single. The play could’ve been ruled an error since the slow roller slipped under shortstop Anthony Volpe’s glove, but with Koss’ speed and the difficulty of the play, the Yankees’ official scorer gave Koss the base hit.
“It’s surreal,” Koss said with an ear-to-ear smile. “You dream about it. Probably not that way, but getting a hit is a hit.”
Koss also helped push a run across the plate in the top of the seventh inning, though he wasn’t credited with his first career RBI. With Casey Schmitt on second base, Koss hit a 96.2 mph ground ball to Paul Goldschmidt. The four-time Gold Glover misplayed the grounder as Koss hustled down the line and Schmitt scored from second base.
The 27-year-old rookie has checked off quite a few firsts in the last month. He made an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, a surprise selection over other players with major-league experience. He appeared in his first game on April 1 against the Houston Astros, reaching base in his first career plate appearance by drawing a walk against right-hander Hayden Wesneski.
Originally Published:
Source: Paradise Post
