Sports

Lee County’s Posey: A star reborn at FSU

• While it’s no secret in Southwest Georgia who Buster Posey is, finally, the nation is taking notice of the former Trojans baseball star turned ultimate team player at Florida State.

Brent Kallestad
AP Sports Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After a stellar career at Lee County High School, Buster Posey came to Florida State as a shortstop, but a switch to catcher — a position he’d never played before in his entire baseball existence — now has poised him to be a first-round pick in Major League Baseball’s June draft.

The right-handed Leesburg native leads the Seminoles with a .458 batting average, .833 slugging percentage, .554 on base percentage and runs scored as Florida State heads for a weekend series at Boston College. Posey is also tied for the club lead in doubles and triples and is second with nine homers.

“There’s not a doubt he deserves to be a first-rounder,” said Florida State coach Mike Martin, who compares his receiver favorably with Boston Red Sox star Jason Varitek.

The Seminoles haven’t had one of their players taken in the first round since Stephen Drew went to Arizona in 2004.

The athletic 6-2, 200-pound Posey was Florida State’s starting shortstop his freshman year before Martin was persuaded by his son, assistant coach Mike Martin Jr., to move him behind the plate.

“In no way did I expect to be catching at Florida State,” Posey said. “Fortunately it’s worked out. I’ve enjoyed the position.”

It’s worked out so well, in fact, that Posey was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List — honoring the nation’s top catcher — his sophomore year, making it down to one of four finalists for the award.

With the season at the midway point, Posey has already picked off a pair of base runners from first and three more at third, including two forced off second base after Posey’s throw behind them.

“He throws as well as anybody I’ve ever coached,” said the elder Martin. “He loves to keep runners honest. Nobody wanders off on him.”

Both Martins believe their catcher throws better than Varitek.

Posey, who also serves as the Seminoles’ closer, laughed when he heard the comparison.

“I try to emulate what they do,” Posey said about Varitek and Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez. “They give their pitchers a lot of pitches. That’s my goal. To work hard for my pitchers.”

Speaking of pitchers, Posey has been one of those, too, this season, reverting back to the position he starred at for the Trojans for a few brief moments. He’s picked up four saves and hasn’t given up a run in his second role as the closer.

“It’s all about being competitive and how bad you want to get it done,” Posey said. “When I get out there, my goal is to get you out.”

If you had asked Posey’s former Lee County coach Rob Williams if he expected his one-time star to shine even brighter once he left the Trojans program, Williams will be frank: “Not as a catcher.”

“I knew he’d go on to bigger and better things,” said Williams, who also coached Posey’s younger brother Jack — a freshman and sometimes starter for the Seminoles this year. “I just didn’t think he’d be catching. As for pitching, I think that’s something they’ve toyed with for awhile, and now they’re letting him get his feet wet. I think it’s great.”

The Seminoles (28-3) are ranked between first and third nationally in several polls before today’s doubleheader in Boston.

And being in New England this weekend means Posey will be playing just a short distance this weekend from the Red Sox and Varitek, who terrorized Florida State during his collegiate career at Georgia Tech.

“Varitek was the best competitor I ever faced,” Martin said. “Buster is undoubtedly in that league.”

A two-time Atlantic Coast Conference all-academic pick, Posey carries a 3.8 grade point average as a finance major in the university’s College of Business.

And while he’s recognized across the ACC, Posey enjoys relative anonymity at Florida State where he’s known by many of his professors and fellow students by his given name, Gerald.

“He’s not a rah-rah guy,” Martin said. “But he’s the unquestioned leader of our team.”

Posey said he’s uncomfortable thinking about the draft and wants to focus on Florida State getting back to Omaha, Neb., and the NCAA College World Series for the first time since 2000.

But, he admits, that being a big leaguer has been a dream for a long time.

“Hopefully I can get there someday,” Posey said. “But I don’t know if this will be my last season (in college) or not and just want to have fun right now.”

Herald sports editor Danny Aller contributed to this report.

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