- Programming note: "Giants Pregame Live" on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday and the ceremony honoring Buster Posey is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m. PT. First pitch between the Giants and Cardinals is at 4:15 p.m. PT.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Before he signed with the Giants, Nick Hundley spent two seasons with the Colorado Rockies. Every time the Giants came into town, Hundley and the Rockies' pitchers would try to figure out a way to slow Buster Posey, and they usually weren't successful.
Posey hit .339 in 159 games against the Rockies and absolutely demolished them at Coors Field, batting .365 with a 1.041 OPS. Hundley knew all about Posey's prowess at the plate when he signed to be his backup, and in their first spring as teammates, he saw the traits that made Posey a three-time World Series champion and future Hall of Famer.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Hundley flew into town for Saturday's ceremony honoring Posey, and on Friday he told a story about the first day of workouts at spring training in 2017. It was the middle of February and the position players took the field at Scottsdale Stadium for throwing drills that are usually pretty casual.
"He looked at me right before we were about to throw to bases and he goes, 'Time to set the tone' and just put on a throwing display," Hundley said. "It was the best throwing I had ever seen in my life. It was, like, really subtle, and he just led by example that way."
The Giants followed Posey's lead for over a decade. In his two years with him, Hundley said he admired Posey's attention to detail and how much he cared about his pitchers and about finding a way to help each one succeed.
"He's playing a different game because he's being asked to do a lot of things just as the face of the franchise and as a future Hall of Famer, the guy that needs to carry your team to win games," Hundley said. "The pressure on him was way greater than it was on anybody else and he handled it with such grace and had time for people. I know a lot of people want his attention and time and he made time for everybody."
RELATED: Posey acting as Giants sounding board in retirement
Hundley, now a special assistant to Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young, played 197 games over two seasons in orange and black. They were difficult seasons in San Francisco, as the Giants shockingly lost 98 games in 2017 and then 89 the next year. Hundley watched Posey fight through hip pain for those two seasons, but last year he watched from afar as his friend turned back the clock and went out in style with an All-Star season.
"I remember the homer he hit against Zack Wheeler last year on a 98 mph fastball up and in, and you're like, 'How in the world did you hit that pitch?' " Hundley said. "There are probably two people in the world that can hit that pitch and he's one of them. It was really special to see him finish strong."
