One of the first people I thought about after hearing of Buster Posey’s decision to retire last week was one Pedro Alvarez.
No, the two weren’t college teammates, although perhaps they played together on some Team USA squad somewhere along the lines during their amateur careers. But they were both prominent prospects heading into the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, and the Pittsburgh Pirates – who owned the second overall pick — were in a position to select either one of them.
I don’t recall many fans unhappy with the Bucs’ decision to take Alvarez after the Tampa Bay Rays pretty much whiffed by taking a Georgia prep shortstop named Tim Beckham with the overall No.