We knew Buster Posey was dealing with health issues during the tail end of his career, we just didn’t know how bad.
Posey revealed that things were difficult during his farewell press conference last week, noting that enjoying baseball was a struggle when you have to do so while in pain. Though Posey was considered mostly healthy in 2021, two major injuries to his ankle and hip, as well as the general wear and tear from being a catcher, seemed to catch up to him.
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow revealed how serious the wear and tear on Posey’s body was when he joined Murph & Mac on Tuesday, saying that Posey had to spend hours on the trainer’s table before every game.
“For the very first time in his relationship with all of us, he kind of opened up the door into how he felt,” Krukow said. “He didn’t feel great. There’s a lot of pain in his game right now, and understandably so. You play in a squat position for 12 years like he has, and you have the kind of injuries that he’s had, there’s going to be some residue. You’re going to have to pay the fiddler.
“At the beginning of your career, I always say, ‘Stay out of the training room, don’t go in the training room.’ Then there comes a point in time when you have to go in there. Once you make that commitment when you have to go in there — and you have to, it’s a necessity — now all of the sudden your time is no longer 15 minutes, it’s a half-hour and an hour. For Buster, he was spending two hours before every game to get ready to play a game. When you spend more time in the training room than you are on the field, that starts to wear on you.”
The pain that Posey must have been playing through makes his 2021 season that much more impressive. At age 34, Posey was an All-Star selection and had his best season since winning the MVP in 2012.
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Listen to the full interview below.