“I Backed Him in 2017 — I’ll Judge Him in 2026”: Inside Buster Posey’s Emotional Defense of Nick Hundley and What It Means for the Giants’ Future
When Buster Posey speaks, San Francisco listens. But when he feels — that’s when the city truly stops.
On Monday morning at Oracle Park, Posey’s calm voice carried a rare edge as he addressed the Giants’ decision to hire Nick Hundley as their next manager. His words were measured, but heavy with meaning.
“I backed him in 2017,” Posey said. “I’ll judge him in 2026.”
In a single sentence, Posey distilled the tension between loyalty and leadership, friendship and accountability. Hundley, his former teammate and close confidant, now inherits one of the most scrutinized managerial chairs in baseball. And Posey, the catcher-turned-executive who helped make it happen, knows all eyes are now on both of them.
For the Giants, this isn’t just a managerial hire. It’s a defining moment for what many inside the organization call the Posey Era. Since assuming a leadership role in the front office, Posey has pushed for a cultural reset — one rooted in trust, communication, and personal connection. Hundley fits that mold perfectly.
“He’s a baseball lifer,” Posey explained. “He’s been in every seat — the bench, the cage, the bullpen. He knows what it’s like to grind.”
But not everyone in San Francisco is sold. Critics question Hundley’s lack of managerial experience and whether his close friendship with Posey might blur the lines of accountability. Some fans still carry emotional scars from the Gabe Kapler era, when the clubhouse’s tone often clashed with the team’s tradition of quiet confidence.
Posey didn’t shy away from those concerns. In fact, he leaned into them. “Look, I know what people are thinking,” he said. “But Nick’s earned this. And I’ve earned the right to expect a lot from him.”
It’s a statement that feels as much like a promise as a warning. Posey isn’t hiding behind sentimentality. He’s staking his credibility — and the team’s future — on a man he once caught pitches from.
“He’s betting on character,” one team executive told The Athletic. “And in today’s game, that’s rarer than betting on analytics.”
Those who know Posey best say the dynamic between him and Hundley has always been defined by blunt honesty. They challenged each other in the clubhouse long before either imagined themselves in leadership roles. Their conversations, by all accounts, were equal parts baseball philosophy and human truth — what it means to lead, to fail, to stay grounded when the game strips away the glory.
“Nick’s not a yes-man,” said a former teammate. “He’ll push back. Posey wants that. It’s not friendship — it’s mutual fire.”
Still, the symbolism is powerful. Posey’s rise from franchise cornerstone to front-office architect has been both fascinating and polarizing. His fingerprints are everywhere: from the development pipeline to the clubhouse culture to the long-term payroll strategy. Now, with Hundley in charge, the connection between legacy and leadership has never been clearer.
And somewhere in the unspoken layers of Posey’s quote — “I’ll judge him in 2026” — there’s an understanding that this partnership will define how his own legacy is viewed. If Hundley thrives, Posey’s vision will be validated. If he falters, the shadow of sentiment may loom large.
In San Francisco, loyalty has always been part of the DNA — from Bochy to Bumgarner to Posey himself. But so has accountability. Posey’s words made one thing clear: even in friendship, there’s no free pass.
For now, Oracle Park buzzes with cautious hope. Two former teammates — one calling the shots, the other calling the game — are trying to build something new in a city still haunted by its golden past.
Because in baseball, as in life, the hardest thing isn’t saying yes. It’s meaning it when you say, “I’ll judge you later.”
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