Buster Posey wins 2012 NL Most Valuable Player Award

Posted on November 15, 2012

Instagram of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey putting on his catcher’s gear in the dugout before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on September 9, 2012 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

With a live announcement on the MLB Network this afternoon San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey capped off a dream season by being named the 2012 National League Most Valuable Player. What more could the Giants young catcher possibly do in this amazing season that saw him come back from a horrific ankle injury in 2011 to put up big offensive numbers, catch a perfect game, and win his second World Series title in his second full season in the big leagues.

I first wrote about Posey when he was a September call up back in 2009. In that blog post I said this: “It has been over 20 years since the Giants drafted and produced an everyday position player that went on to be an all star. The Giants and their fans are hoping this long drought will end with their new phenom catcher Buster Posey.”

Posey wasted little time after he was called up for good at the end of May in 2010. He instantly added punch to the Giants anemic offense and was well on his way to a great freshman season when I wrote a blog post about him in July. “The addition of Posey to the Giants lineup has sparked the club, increased their run production and helped the team contend in the National League West. Besides his potent bat the young backstop is terrific behind the plate. He calls a good game and has a cannon for an arm, already developing a reputation around the league as a guy you don’t want to run on,” I wrote.

Of course we all know that Buster went on to lead his club, as a rookie catcher, to the World Series title in 2010. He then backed up that win by becoming the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year. Last year’s ankle injury in May wiped out his season, and the Giants at the same time. They went nowhere fast in 2011 and the only thing on Giants fans minds last winter was if Posey would be able to come back and play like Posey again.

Not only did the kid come back this season but he did it in MVP style by leading all of baseball with a .336 batting average. He also hit 24 homers and knocked in 103 runs and batted .340 with runners in scoring position. Not too bad for a catcher.

The baseball writers vote on the MVP Award before the postseason starts, but the fact that Posey led his club to their second World Series title on three seasons just cements the fact that he was the most deserving player in the National League to win the award this season.

Nice going Buster. You deserve this award and it caps off a dream season for you, the ball club, and the fans.