Remember This?

Well, actually, you don't, because this is the new Oracle Park. If you look carefully toward center field and right, you will see the slightly-moved-in fences behind which sit the relocated bullpens.  According to the Giants website, Brandon Belt took BP yesterday and didn't notice, though he thought it was cool when someone pointed it out to him. So, all you offseason worrywarts can find something else to stress about. It's 2020, remember, so that shouldn't be too difficult.

The strangest season in Major League history is sixteen days away. The Giants will open at Dodger Stadium on Thursday evening the 23rd, kicking off a four-game long-weekend series before opening at home against San Diego.  Despite the 60-man roster, the traveling taxi squad, the regionally-limited schedule, and all that, no extra doubleheaders have been scheduled to get a few more games in.  We don't see why the schedule couldn't have been expanded to 72 or 80 games in the same time period, but it wasn't.

"Strange" means cardboard cutouts in the seats. (What happens to them when it rains?) "Strange" means the seating areas around the dugouts being used to enforce six-foot distancing for  players and coaches not in the lineup. "Strange" means the minor-league rule about a designated runner on second when a game goes into extra innings. (Well, it beats a home-run derby or some such to settle games.)  "Strange," or "ominous" if you prefer, means the  DH rule in the National League. (Sorry about that, Bum.) "Strange" means a real likelihood of a .400 hitter this year, and a few undefeated or winless pitchers. "Strange" means some pitcher leading the league with six wins, and a slugger leading the league with 19 homers.  There might be a .750 team. There might be a .250 team or two. No, not the Giants. For some reason we think they'll do all right; not .500, perhaps, but not bad. More on that later.

"Strangest" of all will be the eerie silence pervading the empty ballparks, except the usual BP-style shouts of "encouragement" from the bench. With artificial fans in the seats, will the teams, or the TV and radio networks, feel compelled to provide artificial sound too? (God forbid!) Or will we actually get to hear the players on the field?  (How many of you have actually heard the players on the field? Hide the kids!) If eerie silence is the rule, will the announcers feel compelled to stage-whisper, like they do at the US Open or the Masters? "Posey... approaches the plate... batting five hundred... over his last ten games... stands in... here's the pitch." 

The devout hope among everyone in MLB is that all the "strangeness" will have subsided come playoff time, and will be buried in the dark waters of forgetfulness. Normal extra-inning rules, normal rosters, normal number of qualifying teams, normal structure as before. And let's have some excitement, f'rgawdsake.  That means butts in the seats. Will they be there? No one knows.

Eventually the experts will be obliged to admit that about 95% of the population is already infected, that 90% of us are also asymptomatic, and that natural herd immunity is inevitable, despite all the efforts to prevent it.  We're not saying that allowing fans back into the ballparks come October would be a return to common sense, but it would help.

That's for another day on another site. Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto is lookin' mighty sharp. And, as the song says, you know that can't be bad.

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.