Catcher is not Posey’s natural position. At Florida State, he was named to the freshman all-America team as a shortstop and switched to catcher because of the makeup of the Seminoles’ roster. The position suited his intellectual side — Posey earned a 3.8 grade-point average in the second semester of his junior year, even with the draft just ahead — and he poured himself into learning it.

When scouts came to Florida State to watch Posey, the assistant coach, Mike Martin Jr., compared him to two major league captains with multiple World Series championships.

“Mark my words: he’s Jason Varitek behind the plate and Derek Jeter as a hitter,” Martin said he told them, in a 2010 interview. “He gets inside the ball like he’s Jeter, and he runs the show like he’s Varitek — and he cares, like both of them do. That’s what you’re getting.”

Five teams passed on Jeter in the 1992 draft, after the Yankees had gone 71-91 the previous season. Four teams passed on Posey in the 2008 draft, after the Giants had gone, yes, 71-91 the previous season.

After Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Baltimore chose other players, the Giants grabbed Posey and paid him $6.2 million — more than the Rays paid the top pick, Tim Beckham, a shortstop from a Georgia high school who has not reached the majors. It might be the wisest $6.2 million the Giants ever spent, both for his talent on the field and comportment off it.

Like Jeter, Posey is polite and respectful. He answers questions concisely, never revealing too much and never veering far from a team-oriented message. He is a reliable spokesman for the valuable brand of a popular franchise.

“This is my 20th year in sports, and I have to say I’ve never seen anybody like Buster Posey,” Baer said. “I really haven’t. I remember seeing him in a game right after the draft, and he was going into the minor leagues. He has a level of maturity, he looks you in the eye, he calls you by your name.