SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have hired former All-Star catcher Buster Posey as president of baseball operations and fired Farhan Zaidi.
Team chairman Greg Johnson made the announcement Monday after the Giants finished 80-82 in manager Bob Melvin's first season — with one more victory than in 2023. San Francisco hasn't reached the playoffs since winning the NL West in 2021.
The 37-year-old Posey joined the club's ownership group in September 2022, less than a year after his retirement in November 2021.
“As we look ahead, I’m excited to share that Buster Posey will now take on a greater role as the new president of baseball operations,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy and we feel that Buster is the perfect fit. Buster has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to do this job, and we are confident that he and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.”
Posey was a seven-time All-Star with a career .302 batting average. The 2012 NL MVP was selected fifth overall by San Francisco in the 2008 amateur draft out of Florida State.
His former manager, Bruce Bochy, now guiding the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers, is confident Posey will succeed.
“I’m excited for Buster. He has such a great feel for the game," Bochy said via text message. "He did a great job leading on the field, so sure he will excel in this leadership role.”
Posey and wife Kristen moved their family back to the East Bay suburb of Lafayette last year after a stint living in their native Georgia immediately following his retirement. He called it a career after the Giants' franchise-record 107-win season in 2021. Posey opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Zaidi was hired away from the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in November 2018.
“We appreciate Farhan’s commitment to the organization and his passion for making an impact in our community during his six years with the Giants," Johnson said. "Ultimately, the results have not been what we had hoped, and while that responsibility is shared by all of us, we have decided that a change is necessary.”
Johnson, Posey and Melvin were set to address the media on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
It was unclear which candidates from underrepresented groups were considered by the Giants, as required by Major League Baseball.
“We are also fully committed to following the Selig Rule and ensuring diversity in our hiring for any of our open positions,” Johnson said.
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FILE - San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi during a news conference at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
FILE - San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey talks during a news conference, Nov. 4, 2021, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, file)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned his final morning briefing Monday into a variety show featuring live music, breakfast and a raffle to gift his watch to a journalist.
“I dedicated myself to serve the people,” the 70-year-old leader said. “I leave very satisfied to have the affection of many Mexicans.”
Outside the National Palace, hundreds of boisterous supporters of the folksy populist showered him with love while mariachis gave a brassy serenade.
Despite having historically high approval ratings and majorities in Congress, López Obrador never proposed changing the constitution to open the possibility of a second six-year term as other Latin American leaders have. He did, however, push through sweeping constitutional changes for the judiciary and the country’s National Guard in his final days.
Monday was his 1,438th morning briefing, a radical change he brought to the presidency after years of less accessible leaders. His briefings, known as “las mañaneras,” set the day’s agenda and gave journalists the opportunity to ask questions, though López Obrador addressed what he wanted — and ignored what he didn’t.
On Monday, he talked about his achievements — as he has for the past six years — noting that today someone earning the minimum wage can buy twice as many kilograms of tortillas and eggs as they could before because he raised that wage and beat back inflation.
After the briefing, some reporters — who became regular fixtures at the “mañaneras” and didn’t hide their support for López Obrador, gave interviews to other journalists. Some shouted that they wanted to give the president parting gifts or take a final selfie with him. The reporter who won the president’s watch leaped euphorically from his seat when his name was called.
After Tuesday’s inauguration, as he has promised many times, López Obrador will retire to his ranch in the southern state of Chiapas and leave public life.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waves during his last morning press conference, or mañanera, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waves during his last morning press conference, or mañanera, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signs a law that puts the National Guard under the command of the military during his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Supporters of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hold up his initials outside the National Palace where he holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador points to annual statistics regarding "aggressions, injured and detained, and deaths" of soldiers and national guards during his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Supporters of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gather outside the National Palace where he holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A supporter of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador writes him a letter as he gathers with other supporters outside the National Palace where he holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks to the press holding a plate of tamales after finishing his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador unveils his portrait at the National Palace after giving his last morning press conference, "La Mañanera," in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
