Giants star Buster Posey surprises girl who lost baseball cards during California wildfire

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — Buster Posey is a six-time All-Star, but the San Francisco Giants catcher will always remain a most valuable player for a California girl who lost her baseball card collection in a wildfire.

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Posey, the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2012, jumped onto a Zoom call to surprise Reese Osterberg, who thought she was being interviewed about her collection and the kindness of a San Jose man who helped replenish it, KGO reported.

Osterberg, a 9-year-old from Fresno County, lost her baseball cards in September when her home was destroyed during the Creek Fire, the largest single wildfire in California history that destroyed 856 buildings, according to The Fresno Bee.

That destruction included Osterberg’s 100-card collection, which included Posey, her favorite player. Osterberg’s story got national attention when Kevin Ashford, a San Jose baseball card collector, heard about Cal Fire’s regional drive to collect cards and donated approximately 25,000 of them, KGO reported. That was in addition to other donations from people in the community.

KGO sports director Larry Beil began a Zoom interview with Osterberg, who was decked out in a Giants jersey and cap, asking, “What kind of emotions are you going through right now?”

>> California man helps girl replace baseball card collection destroyed in wildfire

But before Osterberg could answer, Posey joined the call.

“Hey, Reese. Reese, I’ll hop in here,” the catcher said, as Osterberg did a double-take. “I just was wondering, who’s your favorite baseball player?”“You,” Osterberg said, smiling broadly.

“I heard you got this huge collection of cards coming your way -- 25,000 or something?” Posey said.

As Posey spoke, Osterberg opened a package shipped to her from the Giants, KGO reported. Included in the box was a baseball signed by Posey and a pack of Topps baseball cards that featured the catcher on the wrapper.

Posey was joined on the Zoom call by his 8-year-old twin daughters, Lee and Addison.

Osterberg now has plenty of cards, but she is not keeping them all. A website, “Cards From Reese,” was established so Osterberg can share her overflow of cards with other children, KGO reported.

“We asked for cards. You sent COLLECTIONS. Thousands upon thousands of cards came in. Baseball cards, basketball, hockey, football ... even golf!” the website states.

Through the website, Osterberg wants to send cards and notes of encouragement to other children. She especially wants to send some to children staying at the Children’s Hospital of Central California in Fresno, where she was a patient with a serious health condition in 2017. She said notes of encouragement from family members and friends gave her strength as she recovered.

You can check out Osterberg’s website here.

Cox Media Group