Buster Posey was at Oracle Park’s club level Thursday afternoon to announce his retirement as a baseball player.
The 34-year-old, who helped the Giants win three World Series titles, is coming off his seventh All-Star season after opting out in 2020 to care for his family. Posey and his wife, Kristen, had adopted twin baby girls, Ada and Livvi, born prematurely during the pandemic. The couple has another set of twins, Lee and Addison, who are 10.
Here’s what Posey said at Thursday’s news conference:
“As you know,” he began, “I’m here today announcing that I’m retiring.”
Appearing at the dais with his wife and Giants executives Farhan Zaidi, Larry Baer and Greg Johnson, Posey read from an extensive statement and at first spoke about Kristen and recalled her cheering in the crowd during baseball games at Lee County High School in Georgia.
“First I’d like to thank the woman sitting up here with me today, Kristen,” Posey said. “Most importantly, thank you for being an amazing mom to our kids, thank you for the love and support from the first game to the last.
“Thanks for being there with me to celebrate all the great moments. I think even more importantly thanks for being there on some of the lower ones.
“I know these years on the West Coast will be some of our fondest, and I’m so excited to continue sharing a life with you and watching our kids grow.”
Posey mentioned his kids — “We’re so blessed to have kind caring and empathetic children. Being your dad is the greatest joy in my life” — and other family members and gave thanks to many Giants employees including the marketing and PR departments as well as the training staff.
“To the entire medical staff. Without you I might have been done five years ago,” Posey said.
Also, Bruce Bochy, Brian Sabean, Bobby Evans and Ron Wotus, all of whom were in attendance.
“Thank you for being leaders for such a long time,” Posey said. “I know how fortunate I am to have spent the first 10 years playing underneath you.”
Along with Gabe Kapler and officials from the new regime. And also all his teammates.
“You make certain friends throughout the years that you know will last beyond the game,” Posey said. “I feel very fortunate to have made some of those friendships over the years and I look forward to them lasting for years to come.”
And, of course, the fans.
“The Giants fan base is more than just fans. It’s a community,” Posey said. “And that sense of community is something we as players could feel in the ballpark when we took the field each night. And I also hope that’s worked the other way.”
Posey reflected on his favorite moments with the Giants including Madison Bumgarner’s final five innings of the 2014 World Series, Sergio Romo closing out the 2012 World Series and Matt Cain’s perfect game.
Posey finished his statement by saying baseball is about time spent with family and friends and memories made doing so.
“I’m so very humbled to have played a part in some of those memories,” Posey said.
After the statement, Posey took questions. The first was why he retired and when he came to the conclusion.
His answer:
“Well, I kind of went into this last season feeling like it might be my last. Just gave myself some space in my mind to be OK with deciding otherwise if I wanted to keep playing. And I just really never wavered. I think it really allowed me to — not that you don’t give it your all — but really, really empty the tank this year like I never have before.
“And the reason I’m retiring is I want to be able to do more stuff from February to November with my family. Physically, it’s much harder now. And to be honest, it’s hard to enjoy it as much when there’s the physical pain that you’re dealing with on a daily basis. Again, I halfway joke with our training staff about being done five years ago, but I don’t know how far of a stretch that’s really off.
“Without the work they were doing daily with the history of an ankle injury and then a hip, yeah it was just getting to the point where things that I was enjoying were not as joyful anymore. No doubt that camaraderie with teammates in the clubhouse, the thrill of winning a great game, I’ll miss. But yeah I just think weighing all those things, it was ultimately why I didn’t really feel like I wavered at all during the year.”
John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey
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