In the 2008 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants took Buster Posey, a catcher from Florida State, with the 5th overall pick.

Just a year later, he would make his major league debut in September.

I remember that call up fairly well. The Giants stunk again, and you basically only came to the yard for two things: Timmy was starting, or you were a psycho like me who actually enjoyed a meaningless Dbacks matchup on a cold Tuesday night. But nevertheless, they gave Posey a taste of the show, as many teams with nothing to play for do for their up-and-coming stars fo tomorrow. The kid looked a little overmatched; not bad, but visibly just a few ways away from being ready. He went 2-17 in another hapless season of Giants baseball.

Buster didn’t make the team outright to begin 2010, but got a call up mid-season to once again be a big leaguer. As Mike Krukow put it, it wasn’t another “let’s have a look see,” it was a “you need to help this team out with your bat see,” as the Giants were in the midst of a division race against the Padres.

They won that race, and the rest is history.

An NL Rookie of the Year Award. 2 Comeback Player of the Year Awards. A Willie Mac Award. A Golden Glove Award. 5 Silver-Slugger Awards. An NL MVP Award. 3 rings. 7 All-Star selections. Caught 2 no-hitters, and the only perfect game in Giants history.

And that was just on the field.

Off the field, he was stellar community presence. He made time for fans. We would get tidbits and quotes from teammates about how funny this stoic, steady field-captain was, cherishing those moments when he would let them sneak through (especially towards the end).

With all that wrapped up into 12 years of bliss, it didn’t really dawn on any of us what life might be like when he finally left us. And after the resurgent year he had in 2021, the news of his retirement shortly after struck every Giants fan right in the heart.

This is a guy who’s number will be retired by the team. And swiftly. Buster was the face of the franchise that won 3 rings in a 5-year window, and one of the handful of names that will be credited for leading the team out of the Bonds era.

He’ll be remembered as one of the greatest catchers to ever play the sport. And, honestly, if he isn’t a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, I think Giants fans might actually try to destroy the museum.

But reeling it back, Buster left gigantic shoes to fill, no pun intended. That’s a lot of pressure to put on his heir, no matter who it is.

Insert young Joey Bart.

Bart was the 2nd overall pick by the Giants in 2018. He took a little longer to debut than Posey did, getting his short 2 years down the line in 2020.

That call-up was…weird.

It was the COVID season. Posey opted to stay home in efforts to protect his family from the virus, as well as finally fully rest the numerous injuries he has accumulated and played through over the past decade. So the Giants, not left with many options at catcher, used the season to give Bart those low-level, feeler-type at-bats over the course of that season. After all, no one had any read on how the 2020 campaign would even play out with the shortened-schedule, no fans, and the pandemic still very much surging.

Not to mention, the Dodgers had just acquired Mookie Betts from Boston, seemingly stacking the team to the point of no return and eliminating everyone else before the first pitch was thrown.

Oh, how I look back fondly on those days, thinking that the Dodgers couldn’t get any richer with talent.

But alas, those games weren’t supposed to be all that meaningful. Giants were in the process of Farhan setting the rebuild chips in motion, so why not get a young guy some reps? Posey’s last 2-3 seasons saw considerable offensive decline. He still played pretty much every day, but at times I found myself almost begging Bruce Bochy to sit him if it meant prolonging him in case we ever dug out of the post-title rut we were in.

Only, the Giants did compete to the very last game in 2020 due to the adjusted playoff scenario for that season, so like Buster’s second one, Bart’s first call up became that “help this team with your bat” situation.

Only, he didn’t have that precursor taste Posey got. He was thrown into the fire in very unorthodox circumstances, and it showed. He struck out every other at-bat. He struggled to even barrel balls up. His defense faltered. He struggled to create any kind of rhythmic traction with any of his starters, causing confusion and frustration in those games.

Despite everything working against him, I still left that season seeing a project that wasn’t even close to completion. And when he sprouted briefly in 2021 and displayed similar issues once again, I was even more depleted from the retirement news knowing that this was likely going to be the option moving forward in the near future. Whenever a draft pick displays major issues, it naturally begs the question of whether or not he might ever fix those issues. And with no other bridge options, it was almost now or never for Bart and the Giants.

But 2022 Joey Bart has thus far shown me I have, and always will, a lot to learn about this game.

Every aspect of Bart’s repertoire has improved drastically, mainly in the confidence department. He’s leading the staff, demolishing baseballs, and having fun doing it. Whereas in 2020, you could see how much he was pressing, lost in the batter’s box and behind the plate.

Just today, he hit an absolute missile into the Cleveland bleachers that looked like it would’ve left the atmosphere if it had a little more height to it. Every single hit he’s had has been loud, man. He’s handled the staff, including newcomer Carlos Rodon, with ease even despite the new pitch-calling armband of justice everyone’s using.

The other night, quickly sliding back into the old signs after that new tech started failing during a start by Alex Wood, whose pace and energy can sometimes be a little much, without much friction was a very welcoming sign for me. That’s the kind of preparedness that I genuinely would not have given Bart the benefit of the doubt on a year ago.

Bart’s had a nice little start to the season for himself. The strikeouts are still his preferred method of being retired by the opposition, but that’s expected based on the kind of swing and approach he has. He’s done a decent job behind the plate defensively, and should continue to steadily improve. For now, all signs point to an above-average, true rookie campaign.

But there will be bumps in the road for Joey Bart. And as he maneuvers in and out of them, I think it’s important to be cognizant of not comparing his every waking move to Buster Posey.

Posey didn’t have that predecessor to constantly be aligned with. He got to pave his own path, and I’d say he did a pretty damn good job.

But Bart deserves the same patience, even if he doesn’t have that same luxury. Sure, Buster made it easy on us being pretty awesome right away and maintaining that, but those kinds of experiences happen for ‘once in a lifetime’ guys. I mean, you read the resume I left at the top of this post.

Now, could Joey Bart be one of those guys down the road? No question. He’s certainly got the tools. But Giants fans have got to give him the opportunity to realize that potential without the scrutiny of coming after one the game’s all time greats.

So enjoy this Joey Bart high. Maybe it’ll never come down, like it did for our beloved #28. Maybe it won’t. Maybe Bart completely nosedives into another demotion to Triple-A. Maybe a few demotions. Maybe he never becomes an All-Star. Maybe he’ll also have a potential career-ending injury, but instead of return in spectacular fashion, he’ll never be the same afterwards.

Enjoy the lows too.

Maybe he’s just…okay. Which, in that case, don’y enjoy the #2 pick being just okay.

The point is, whatever the case may be for Joey Bart, it has to happen, how it was meant to happen.

And as difficult as it may be, we have to be accepting of the outcome. No matter what Buster, and our hearts, tell us.