Your World Champion San Francisco Giants

It had to happen, eventually. The law of averages finally had to catch up; surely it had to this year...didn't it? 

Last night, it finally did. 

After 33 years of waiting, I can finally say it: Ladies and Gentlemen, YOUR WORLD CHAMPION SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!

Wow. It seems a bit surreal to a Giants fan that still has his program from his first Giants game...in 1977. (Charlie K, I don’t think I can say thank you enough for introducing me to the Orange and Black.)

I didn’t think this year was going to work out. I mean, back in August the Giants were, what? 6 1/2 games back of San Diego?  Then came September and they went 18-8, and took NL west from San Diego on the last day of the regular season. 

Then it was playoff time. They split a pair at home, then swept Atlanta at Turner  Field. Then to Philly--split a set there, won two at home, then had to go back to Philly. They couldn’t possibly win it there. But they did, and suddenly they were in the World Series.

And then it happened. 11-7 and 9-0 in the first two games. On to Texas, where I honestly expected them to lose. (They did, 4-2.) They won game 4 in a masterful game pitched by a man just barely old enough to buy a beer, Madison Bumgarner, 4-0. 

And then came game five. Tim Lincecum did what he does best: served up 8 innings of really good pitching. Brian Wilson took over in the 9th, and that was that.

This year makes up for a few things. You know, like 2002 when they collapsed to the Angels--THE ANGELS, for cryin’ out loud! Like 1994, when the strike did damage beyond the diamond. Like 1989, when more than the team collapsed: the Cypress structure, the Marina District and part of the Bay Bridge collapsed as well. (That was painful for me personally as I was in school in Chicago that year.) Like 1985, when they dropped 100 games--100!!!--and I was in Navy Boot Camp, and had to suffer through a miserable summer being away from home...and having to hear that the Giants had “...blown another game.”  And yes, like 1978 when they had some great players...and lost toward the end of the season to the Dodgers. 

There’s been a long line of Giants greats. Oh, sure--Willie Mac, Willie Mays, Orlando “The Baby Bull” Cepeda, Juan Marichal. Jack “The Ripper” Clark. Will “The Thrill” Clark. David Dravecky. Vida Blue, John “The Count” Montefusco, Robby Thompson, and Gaylord Perry. Steve “Bedrock” Bedrosian. Bob Brenly. Dave “Rags” Righetti. Yes, both Barry and Bobby Bonds. Jose Uribe. The Alou brothers. Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow. Jeff Kent and JT Snow. So many more.

Now you can add to that list Tim “The Freak” Lincecum, Brian “The Beard” Wilson, Juan Uribe (Jose’s nephew), Edgar Renterria, Pablo Sandoval, Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, Brian Posey, and the rest of the crew.

Managers: Roger Craig, Frank Robinson, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy. Class acts, all of them. Might as well mention owners and managing partners as well: Bob Lurie, Peter Magowan, and current principal shareholder Bill Nuekom. Congratulations, Bill!

A lot of good memories, too. All those night games at the ‘Stick. I still have my Croix de Candlestick, earned--the hard way--in a late night extra-inning game more years back than I want to admit. It’s the only place I’ve ever been where the American flag blew to the left and the California flag blew to the right...at the same time. You could always tell the tourists at the ‘Stick...they were blue by the middle of the fourth. (Locals brought parkas and sleeping bags.) We won’t talk about the fog. (Or that miserable crab mascot, either.) 

And when I couldn’t go to a game, I often listened on the radio or on TV. Lon Simmons, Hank Greenwald, Ron Fairly, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow. KSFO at first, then KNBR. TV was KTVU forever, with a lot of the same names.

I have a lot of Giants gear: The warmup jacket, a jersey, wristbands, several fitted hats (one of which still fits), pennants, buttons, a tie, programs, Giants magazines, some pocket schedules, a stuffed bear in a Giants t-shirt, and a baseball card of me in a Giants jersey and hat. (And even more stuff, including several years worth of Mother’s Cookies baseball cards.) I know I’ve driven people crazy sometimes--I’m okay with that. 

This came so fast that San Francisco fans didn’t quite know how to celebrate: only five known arrests as of this morning. Me? I celebrated quietly, made a few phone calls and called it a night. Too much to do today.

However...I’ve been a Giants fan for a long time, and this has been a long time coming. 

I tip my hat to the G-Men...the World Champions!