There Might be Giants

Looks like we'll have us a major-league baseball season after all.

Major League Baseball announces they are going forward with a 2020 season per the agreement with the MLBPA of March 26, 2020:

https://www.mlb.com/news/major-league-baseball-statement-on-2020
 
Presumably the San Francisco Giants will be included.

Like the rest of you, we now watch and wait with a heightened sense of anticipation. Despite all the negativity, we come down on the side of "Any baseball is better than no baseball." 

When, where, and how this all works will be forthcoming. Quickly. We hope.

Al Kaline

Al Kaline, the great Detroit Tigers outfielder who passed away Monday, was one of those ballplayers whom fathers held up as role models for their sons back in the day.  His persona was that of the quiet, unpretentious All-Star, a man of great but understated confidence, good manners, sportsmanship, and a commitment to personal excellence. We know he was, like all men, much more complex than that public image. But unlike so many, he rarely, if ever, allowed his personality to overshadow his performance. He was a good one all right, one of the best outfielders to ever play the game, a multi-tool player who overcame physical handicaps to build a 22-year career, 18 times an All-Star, his career bookended by two events: a batting championship at age 20 and a world championship at 34.

In between he was often taken for granted; it was his fate to play right field at the same time as Henry Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente, all of them, like Kaline, first-ballot Hall of Famers. In our lifetime it's Clemente's career to which Kaline's has regularly been joined in comparison. Kaline, though four months younger than Clemente, came up two years earlier and was already the reigning AL batting champion when Roberto took his first cuts. While it took a good decade for people to realize Clemente was a great player, Kaline experienced the opposite effect-- a decade later, sometimes folks outside Detroit had to be reminded he was still around, and still great.

Both rose to the occasion and played brilliantly in the World Series their teams won late in their careers. Clemente's heroic and tragic death, of course, elevated his public image far above Kaline's in the 1970s, and we would bet that 90% of baseball fans over the age of 50 today would name Clemente before Kaline in a discussion of the greatest right fielders of their youth. Overall, they're very close. Kaline has the edge as a hitter: more power, more walks, more speed, more runs and more RBI per season, a lifetime 134 OPS+ to 130. While excellent defensively-- he played center field as well as he played right field-- Kaline, like almost every other outfielder, pales in comparison to his NL rival, whose 12.2 defensive WAR ranks in the top five of all outfielders. (Did you know three of the top four in all-time career dWAR are Baltimore Orioles-- Belanger, Brooks, and Ripken? Al Kaline was born in Baltimore and early in his career, was known as the "Baltimore Greyhound" for his speed. But we digress. Frequently.)

There'as an excellent biography of Al Kaline at sabr.org. He ranks with Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann as the greatest of Detroit Tigers outfielders. He's still the youngest batting champion in baseball history. After his 1974 retirement he remained with his team as a broadcaster and goodwill ambassador; all told, 47 years a Tiger.  They named a street behind the stadium after him, and he lived in the Detroit area all his life. For those of you who never saw him play, there's some video from the 1968 World Series out there, in which he hit .379 with 8 RBI in seven games. A picture of grace and of determination on the baseball field, Al Kaline long ago earned his place as one of the game's immortals.

"Cheaters Never Prosper"

Except we all know that sometimes they do, at least for a time.  Take a breath, people. It's all part of life's rich pageant.

Four observations on the organized sign-stealing scandal that has tarnished the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox, so far:

1. The severe suspensions and subsequent firings were appropriate. Eventually A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora and the others will find gainful employment in major-league baseball again, as they should. They've proven they are good at what they do legitimately; they made a colossal mistake and got caught; eventually they'll get a chance to manage again, and to get it right this time.  The main point of these actions is not and must not be to eternally punish the known offenders; it's to establish a firm, fearful, and merciless precedent for others who might consider doing something similar. We all benefit if that works.

2. The difference is in degree. Real-time sign-stealing, cutting corners, doctoring the ball, wetting down the field, "organic cheating", if you will, has been part of baseball, and all professional sports, for over a century. Historically it has been done through cunning, through on-field chicanery, through methods and schemes available, in theory at least, to everyone. But deploying technology completely outside the game, assigning specific individuals to organize and conduct the cheating, and surreptitiously manipulating the replay protocols elevates it to an unacceptable level.  This is where we draw the line. Let's hope it stays there.

3. Of course the internet shouters, the commentators and columnists, and the professional ignoranti have had a field day here. We've heard from people, presumably adults, who cry that if Hinch, Cora, et. al., are not banned from the game for life, then it's time to elect Joe Jackson and Pete Rose to the Hall of Fame and, presumably, appoint Arnold Rothstein to a posthumous commissionership. "It's just like the Black Sox," or "It's worse than the Black Sox," can be found everywhere you look.  Let's be clear here: if you can't, or worse, won't, understand and apply the difference between "cheating to win" and "deliberately throwing games," then you are too stupid to have an opinion and you should not be allowed to vote. On anything.

4. And for the Los Angeles City Council, and like-minded politically-correct toadies everywhere, we offer up the following from a  post we made in 2012: "Those who advocate placing asterisks next to records, erasing records, or vacating team wins or accomplishments, are all Communists... the "Politburo" regularly edited out people and events from history... What kind of person actually believes that you can undo something that has been done?... If you have to have it explained to you why it is morally wrong to go into the past and erase events and people as if they never happened, then you will never understand... It's not about baseball. It's about you, and your deep-seated need to get even... That's what Communism is, the ultimate get-even game, and that's what you are."

Double down on that one.   

Now, let's play ball.

Don Larsen 1929-2020

Don Larsen, the only man to pitch a perfect game in the World Series, was also a San Francisco Giant for two years. In Game 4 of the 1962 World Series, he came on in relief of Bob Bolin in the sixth inning of a tie game with two on and two out, got out of it with no run allowed, and earned the win when Chuck Hiller hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh. 

RIP Don Larsen, a Giant and a legend.

Bum Voyage

It's not terribly surprising that Madison Bumgarner has cashed in with a new team. The Giants, after all, have rather loudly turned a page, and while they'd have loved to have kept him, a team focused on rebuilding doesn't get into a bidding war on a veteran, no matter who he is. With Bruce Bochy, the only major-league manager he's ever known, having retired, with new faces in the front office, with the realization that the next World Series in San Francisco, if it comes, will be closer to the end of any five-year deal than to the beginning of it, "Bum" had every reason to move on. 

Over the years, only a few homegrown Giants stars have departed the orange and black for the greener pastures of free agency. Gary Matthews, back in 1977, was the first. Will Clark famously left in the wake of a 103-win season in 1994 after Texas offered a then-unprecedented five-year deal. That one probably hurt the most, more than Jeff Kent bailing after the 2002 World Series-- Kent, after all, had not been a career Giant. Pablo Sandoval's exit after 2014 was the most recent, and unlike the other guys, his career tanked after leaving San Francisco (and only began to recover after he returned, hat in hand).   

Perhaps "Bum's" exit is especially poignant for us because it's so different from how Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the two great Giants pitchers he joined in 2010 and teamed with over the succeeding years, finished their careers. Matty, of course, stayed with the club his entire 13-year career and retired as a Giant. Timmy didn't do exactly the same, but like Matt he is and will be remembered as a Giant first and always.  On this cold morning in December, we like to think "Bum" ultimately will be remembered the same. 

Two weeks ago we wrote that if Madison Bumgarner never throws another pitch in Giants uniform, his legacy here is secure. That isn't going to change.  He leaves the Giants as the second-greatest pitcher in San Francisco history, behind only Juan Marichal. As we've noted on our history pages, the methods we've borrowed to measure long-term greatness are heavily weighted toward regular-season achievements. Bumgarner certainly has his share of those.

But we all know it's the postseason that sets "Bum" apart from the others-- not just the other Giants pitchers, but every other pitcher. He has made 14 postseason starts, far more than any other Giant. The team is 11-3 in those starts. Six-- six!-- of those fourteen are shutouts, three of them complete-game shutouts; it's hard to overstate how rare and valuable that is in this modern game.  Overall "Bum" has a 0.88 postseason WHIP with a 2.31 ERA. That stands up against anyone in the game today. 

But in the World Series? Here he stands alone, truly alone, at the top, the best of the best. Madison Bumgarner, in four World Series starts, is 4-0 with three shutouts. He has allowed one earned run in those four starts over 31 innings, for an all-time greatest World Series ERA of 0.29.  His World Series WHIP is 0.55 with a .129 batting average against, 27 strikeouts against five walks.

And, yeah, the greatest save in World Series history, too.

Maybe we really do need to revise our scoring method for all-time greatness.

And maybe we're being selfish and petty, but we've really no interest in seeing those epic, all-time, fantastic World Series numbers tarnished by a future appearance with another team. (Should they be enhanced by a future appearance with another team-- well, that's a possibility we'll visit another day, or not.)

So-- sorry about that, Bum. We do wish you well, within reason, that is. And if that's not enough, just remember, big guy-- we Giants fans loved you first and best.

Catching Up

No, this is not a cute sidebar about the Giants' plans for Buster Posey, Stephen Vogt, or Joey Bart. Nor have we any breaking news about Madison Bumgarner and the qualifying offer. If you've spent any time here at all, you know that "breaking news" is something we don't do; indeed, we tend to specialize in "broken news," as in "yesterday's headlines-- today!"

But the shotgun marriage between yesterday and today can be consummated through our annual report on how certain Giants are doing as they march along toward history. In other words, we've updated our "Greatest Giants Players" page with 2019 stats, so let's review  who stands where among the great.

Madison Bumgarner, he of the QO and free agency, is now the second-greatest San Francisco Giants pitcher of all time, the K2 to Juan Marichal's towering Mount Everest. Another workmanlike season-- lots of innings and strikeouts, not too many hits, walks, or runs-- vaulted "Bum" past Tim Lincecum and Gaylord Perry. He is now also the eighth-greatest San Francisco Giant of all time, and if he never throws another pitch in Giants uniform, his legacy here is secure.

Brandon Belt, everybody's favorite, has inched his way into the top-20 all-time list despite a thoroughly lackluster season; his eight years at first base tie Will Clark even if he's about half the player Will was.  And the man who spelled Belt at first, spelled Even Longoria at third, was the DH in American League parks, and generally made himself useful, Pablo Sandoval, has now tied for 20th as well. The "Panda" played in 108 games and put up 1.5 WAR and thus earns some Giants cred for the first time since 2014, though he's been around for the past three years.  He's another free agent and we'll see if this is it for him as well.

The other Brandon, Crawford, padded his lead as the premier San Francisco shortstop despite a forgettable season; he's now 18th on the all-time list and Jack Clark is within range.

Buster Posey, #5 San Francisco Giant, added little to his resume other than another year of service and great defense behind the plate. The top four are well ahead of him and all are in the Hall of Fame (or should be), and so will he be someday.

Of course we were sorry to see Joe Panik crash, burn, and get DFA'd at midseason; he gets credit for one more year of service, and leaves the Giants as our fifth-ranked second baseman.

Nobody else did much, though Will Smith increased his overall value by 133% in his All-Star season. It's tough on relievers who don't stay with the team a long time and don't get to pitch in the postseason.

And as we added a few new names to the master list, so too did we pare it down by removing guys who had no staying power. The only real regret was cutting Derek Holland, who did such stalwart work for the Giants in 2018 but couldn't even draw a trade offer this season.  He joins the likes of Chris Stratton, Mark Melancon, and Ty Blach, who quietly dropped off the radar this past year.

Nationals' Treasure

Congratulations to the Washington Nationals, World Series champions! During this entertaining World Series and the postseason series, the Nats more than a few times reminded us of our own Giants in their championship years, battling back against adversity, taking merciless advantage of late-inning pitching changes, and winning the World Series on the road.  And congratulations to former Giant Dave Martinez, manager of the world champions. Martinez, by trade an outfielder, stepped in to play first base in 1994 after the Giants realized they'd been unable to replace Will Clark. He wasn't Will, but he was well good enough to help the Giants back into contention before the strike and lockout ruined everything. Now 55, he outmaneuvered one of the best, Houston's A.J. Hinch, when it counted.

It was a Game Seven that should have been remembered for a great pitching performance by Zack Greinke, who over six near-perfect innings finally justified the Astros' Big Midseason Trade. But after Greinke opened the seventh by giving up a leadoff homer to the unsinkable Anthony Rendon and walking the amazing, just-turned-21 Juan Soto, manager Hinch pulled him in favor of ace reliever Will Harris. And we had immediate flashbacks to 2002 Game Six, Dusty Baker, Russ Ortiz, and Felix Rodriguez. Felix had worked all five games when he was summoned back then; Harris had worked four before last night's appearance, though only four innings. In any case, the result last night was not as ugly as it was back then, but it was equally emphatic: Harris gave up a game-changing two-run homer and Washington took the lead they'd never lose. Fittingly, Howie Kendrick, whose grand slam in the tenth inning of NLDS game five knocked the entire baseball universe off its axis and jump-started Washington's amazing post-season run, delivered the blow.

Greinke, both for his achievement and for the might-have beens, overshadowed Max Scherzer's gutsy five innings, over which he stranded ten runners while allowing only two to score,  Patrick Corbin's own trade-justifying three shutout innings, and Daniel Hudson and his perfect ninth. Add series MVP Stephen Strasburg's two wins-- both on the road, in Game Two to set the Astros into desperation mode, and in Game Six to halt Houston's just-regained momentum-- and the wild-card Nats had just enough to overcome the overpowering Gerrit Cole, the disappointing Justin Verlander, Game 4 hero Jose Urquidy, and, finally, Greinke. It was indeed a fight, and the Nationals finished it.

So Washington City gets its first world champion since 1924, and it's about time. This benighted franchise had never won a postseason series of any type, excepting only the abbreviated NL East playoff after the strike-shortened 1981 season, when they were the Montreal Expos and were managed by Dick Williams. Thirteen years later the Expos were 74-40, best in baseball, when the other strike was called, ruining that season. Montreal never recovered. Eleven years later they landed in Washington, at old RFK Stadium, which even the beloved Redskins had abandoned years before.

It was that September, in 2005, that a rookie named Ryan Zimmerman made his MLB debut for the newly-christened Nationals. For years he was the lone star on a bad team. Then he endured the disappointments of 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017, when his team lost in the first round each time. He was in the dugout in October 2014 when former Giant Matt Williams made that ill-fated pitching change in the ninth inning of NLDS game two-- and was still in the dugout nine innings later when the Giants won that game in the 18th and doomed Washington to another postseason letdown.

Five years later, now 35 and the team's senior member, Ryan Zimmerman celebrated with his teammates in Houston, a world champion at last. As any Giants fan can testify: brother, it was worth the wait.