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.
