SAN FRANCISCO–During the second half of the Giants’ 2017 season, manager Bruce Bochy has been able to rest catcher Buster Posey frequently and give his legs a break.
On Saturday, though, Posey will return to his normal position behind home plate, after insisting that he catch right-hander Matt Cain’s final start in a Giants’ uniform.
After Cain announced his retirement on Wednesday, Posey told reporters that he planned to catch Saturday’s game, even though he hadn’t discussed the day with Bochy yet.
“Yes. Boch hasn’t told me, but yes,” Posey said, when asked if he would catch.
Posey has worked with Cain since the 2010 season, and they’ve shared parts of eight seasons in a Giants’ uniform together. As Cain calls it quits, Posey wanted to make sure he was the one who caught his final pitch, and Bochy said he had no objections.
“I did. I wanted Buster to catch him,” Bochy said. “Of course, he was a little banged up the last game so I talked to him, so I did talk to Buster and he said there’s no way I wouldn’t catch him. I’ve been looking forward the last couple of days to catching Matt in his last game and these guys want to get out there when Matt starts. So this was a no-brainer as far as the lineup.”
Even though the Giants have nothing left to play for, Bochy put a slew of regulars and many of Cain’s teammates who’ve been around him the longest in Saturday’s lineup. A 13th-year veteran, Cain has spent every season of his professional career in a Giants’ uniform, and that’s part of the reason Bochy believes Saturday will be so emotional for many of the franchise’s most important figures.
“It doesn’t happen,” Bochy said. “It was part of his decision he said. He just couldn’t imagine wearing a different uniform and that says a lot about Matt. He’s a Giant, he’s all Giants, forever Giant and I really admire him for making that part of his decision.”
Giants’ luminaries like Willie Mays and Barry Bonds are in attendance on Saturday, as well as a number of Cain’s former teammates including Javier Lopez and Ryan Vogelsong.
“This man is loved by everybody,” Bochy said. “Teammates, fans, ownership, you know, Matt, he’s so well respected and loved as a person, he’s just been a great teammate.”