© John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
As Buster Posey crutched his way into Giants clubhouse Saturday afternoon, the first thing he did was greet Aramis Garcia, the rookie catcher who played the game of his life last night – and was only given the chance due to Posey’s absence.
Then Posey sat down to discuss his surgery and recalled earlier in the year doing research on the procedure which addressed a tear in his right hip. He said he read a report that examined the success rate of other players who had the surgery, and talked with Reds catcher Curt Casali earlier in the year, who also had the surgery.
“He mentioned to me that he felt really good this year,” Posey said. “So that was encouraging.”
But on the day of the surgery, last Monday, Posey’s mind wandered from the intricacies of what would be a roughly two-hour surgery that could define the rest of his career. As the surgery before him continued for longer than expected, and the fasting Posey had to do for his surgery started to catch up with him, he started to think more existentially.
As a professional athlete, Posey thought about how difficult it was for him to go half a day without eating.
“It makes you really think about people or children that are hungry or go without eating for half a day,” Posey said.
Before Posey talked about his surgery, he and his wife, Kristen, met with pediatric cancer patients and their families in honor of Pediatric Cancer Awareness day at AT&T Park. He recounted reading about new types of cancer treatment, like the use of salmonella to treat cancer patients.
Regarding how he dealt with his own condition throughout the year, Posey was typically understated.
“I think part of being a major-league baseball player is understanding that you have to go out there,” Posey said. “You’re taught early-on that most of the time you’re not ever going to go out there feeling 100 percent, so I think that mindset helps when you’re thinking of something that’s chronic or nagging.”