Former Giants pitcher Jake Peavy likes what he has seen from Buster Posey, his former teammate and first-year San Francisco president of baseball operations.
In talking to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic on Monday at MLB's annual Winter Meetings charity auction in Dallas, Tex., Peavy explained how Posey is off to a great start after the Giants’ reported acquisition of star shortstop Willy Adames.
“I don’t know why anybody would be surprised or why they wouldn’t think that Buster would be the guy,” Peavy told Pavlovic. “He’s been the golden child since showing up and winning [2010 NL] Rookie of the Year, and [he] owns an MVP and championship after championship. I believe in Buster to the utmost. I can’t see how this doesn’t go well; and look, it’s going to have to, with what the [Los Angeles] Dodgers and [San Diego] Padres and the [Arizona] Diamondbacks are doing in the division.
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“Buster’s already made a nice move in getting another Willy. Willy Adames [is a] great player; left side of the infield, I absolutely love, moving Tyler Fitzgerald over [to second base] -- I like what he’s done already with people.”
Peavy and Posey were Giants teammates between the 2014 and 2016 seasons. The retired right-hander has spent plenty of time around San Francisco’s new lead executive and shares his championship experience, considering they won the 2014 World Series together.
But as Peavy mentioned, Posey is more than just one of baseball’s top minds -- he’s a great person on and off the diamond.
“Buster’s a people person,” Peavy told Pavlovic. “He loves the game of baseball -- he understands it to the nth degree -- but he understands that we live in a world of people and their personalities and character matter. Signing Willy Adames shows they’re committed to that, good start.”
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Posey’s role is as much about managing talent as much as it’s about managing relationships. Peavy believes that Posey landing someone like Adames, who is coming off a 112-RBI season, just months into running the Giants is a promising sign for the franchise’s future.
But that’s not all.
Peavy is a fan of Posey’s accountability. While the exec won’t scream anyone’s head off, he enforces integrity and correctness in his operations.
“Well, he holds you accountable in such a nice way,” Peavy told Pavlovic. “Buster’s not going to get in your face and really let you have it unless it gets to that point. He’s just very politically correct and just has a beautiful way of holding people accountable -- and that’s what wins. In the workspace in general, accountability within the team or people whose got to do something is critical. So, Buster will do that and bring what he values to the guys currently playing.
"I can’t think of a better guy that I would want in charge as a San Francisco former player and somebody who loves the Bay Area. I think we’re on the verge of seeing something special.”
Peavy wants to see the Giants return to the apex of baseball and believes Posey is the right person to get them there; Adames’ reported commitment already proves it.