Leaders Can Come From Anywhere, at Any Age.

Happy Thanksgiving

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” --Joe DiMaggio

Storyline: On November 4, after eleven years playing Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced his retirement.  The news shocked fans -- Posey had just helped propel the Giants to their best season in history, and at only 34 still seemed to have more ahead of him.

From the moment Posey first stepped foot in the Giants clubhouse in 2009, he made an impression.  Sports broadcaster Mike Krukow recalled that Posey had a presence unlike any other rookie he’d seen, an “it factor” that left even his veteran teammates in awe and eager to impress him.  That energy helped reinvigorate an aging team of underestimated misfits, as Posey and the team led San Francisco to win its first championship in 2010 and two more in the span of five years.  He played every game with a focused determination, a drive to push the team forward that remained untouched by ego, and became a quiet leader to those around him, a person his teammates could rely on and an opinion they could trust.  Posey is perhaps nearly as famous for his “Buster Hugs,” a hallmark of nearly every major victory in these past 12 years and a testament to the strength of his relationship with each Giants pitcher, as he is for his playing.  As basketball player Steph Curry described it, “There’s always a feeling of somebody who represented one organization for his entire career and did it with class the entire time.”

Buster Posey’s final season feels like an encore, a last hurrah before the curtain falls and the lights go down.  He opted out of the 2020 season to spend time with his family and his newly-adopted twin daughters, and came back this year stronger than ever, the longest-tenured member on the team and a leader to a group of new up-and-comers.  It was not the first time he’d returned to the game after a hiatus, and perhaps one reason fans were so caught off-guard by Posey’s decision to retire was because they were so used to seeing him get back up again, fall after fall.  But playing one of baseball’s most physically-taxing positions takes its toll, and at the end of the day, Posey decided to place not only his family first, but his own well-being.

Former Giants pitcher Barry Zito said it best in a Twitter tribute to his old teammate:  “You have what most of us MLB players never did, true perspective.  You didn’t bow down & worship the game of baseball as if it were your God.  In the eyes of @SFGiants fans, you walked on water but to you, it was just a game you loved to play and that’s why you played it so well.  Perspective.  You cared about the game but didn’t let it define you the way we all did.  Whether you were winning one of your 3 World Series titles or in the middle of a career-worst slump you were the same Buster, focused, friendly and always professional.”

Reflection: It doesn’t take a seasoned veteran to make a leader.  At 23, Buster Posey was already setting an example for his team before he’d even played his first game.  For twelve years, his dedication, humility, and commitment to his teammates never wavered.  His priorities, too, remained unchanged -- while baseball was his livelihood, at the end of the day, at the peak of his career, he chose to step away and take care of himself and his family.  That, too, takes confidence.

Happy Thanksgiving, Buster.  We’re thankful for you and all you’ve given us, and we know your family is too.

(An additional thanks to my mother, a lifelong Giants fan whose input helped make this post possible, and to our readers around the world, for your continued support and contributions to discussion through the years.  From all of us at Friday Reflections, Happy Thanksgiving.)

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

Comments

[Sam]

Great story about being a leader to the team and fans! Thanks for sharing this inspirational story. I read an inspirational quote this week " People do not crave suffering, but they crave for things that create suffering". Buster chose to be the exception among his peers and not craving for more fame and fortune but to look at life of what else it could be.

[Carol]

What a good man!

[Annie]

True Leader in every role of Life.

[Cousin from Manhattan]

Happy Thanksgiving Pre-edition! Thank you for all your inspiring notes every week.

[FR Sujat]

I like this! Superb statement as the point to ponder by Joe DiMaggio! Thank you.

[Phoebe]

Another point I want to emphasize that I didn't really talk about in the article was how much attention Buster paid to the individual needs and styles of each pitcher. This is something a lot of his old teammates, especially the pitchers, have emphasized repeatedly when discussing his retirement, and another important aspect of leadership that I think I would be remiss not to acknowledge--know your team, know their strengths, and know how to work with each person individually in order to achieve the best results.

[Friend from AZ]

Even though we're not giants fans, we've always liked and respected buster posey. A guy that has always 'done it right'.

[MH-Singapore]

Happy thanksgiving to you too. Thank you for the articles. They are always uplifting and meaningful

[humble warrior]

Legend!

[Prasad Vepa]

I liked Phoebe's FR post very much. The qualities she described in Buster Posey are the very definition of character - integrity, humility, dedication, perseverance and putting the team ahead of oneself- that Posey modeled so well to inspire others in any field of endeavor. It takes enormous self awareness to walk away from the pinnacle of success to less giddy duties of caring for the family and putting them ahead of his own stellar career. My congrats to her for this well-written post.

[Cari Shim]

Catching this article late. Buster was a much admired man and thank you for bringing out the leadership traits that made him so admired. Great read!