World Champion Giants back in San Fracisco

Trafton B.

April 11, 2011 - 5:47 PM

Well, I guess I could have stuck around Eugene for the weekend. There certainly were some noteworthy events. Men's and Women's Track & Field both had dominant wins at the Pepsi Invitational on Saturday afternoon. I could have stuck around to see the Men's Baseball Team destroy the Huskies 9-0 on Sunday.

Instead, I decided to hop on a plane back to the Bay Area to enjoy a weekend of rest and relaxation with the family. And did I mention that it was Opening Weekend for the San Francisco Giants? Yeah, I kind of came home for that, too. How could I pass up the opportunity to see my Giants first games back after winning the 2010 World Series last November?

My weekend began with a Friday afternoon flight into San Francisco. Friday night was dinner with the family at Sushi Sam's, which I highly recommend if anyone happens to be traveling through San Mateo in the near future. I might be a little bias in saying this, but it's probably the best sushi joint on the West Coast. Just sayin'. Saturday morning was a little shopping at REI with my mom, followed by a mid-afternoon nap on the couch whilst watching the 2011 Masters, and finally my dad and I headed into the city for the Giants' game.

First pitch wasn't until 7:05 PM, but Saturday night was about more than just the game. Saturday night was Opening Night at AT&T Park and the pre-game festivities included the official World Series ring ceremony. It nearly brought a tear to my eyes.

I should probably give you a little historical perspective so that you can hopefully grasp the significance of this situation, not for me, but for the Giants' organization. The last time the Giants won the World Series was in 1954. Willie Mays, the "Say Hey" Kid, was only in the third year of his Hall of Fame career. Monte Irvin, the first African American ballplayer to play for the Giants, was still manning the outfield. And, oh yeah, the team was still in New York.

If you've ever seen an old clip of Willie Mays making a ridiculous basket catch while
racing towards an thirty foot tall fence, back completely turned from the in-field, that's the last time the Giants won the World Series. That was "the Catch," as it's affectionately referred to by all Giants fans, and it was made at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan when the New York Giants beat the Cleveland Indians in the '54 World Series.

The point I'm trying to make in all this is that the Giants haven't won a World Series since 1954, and more importantly they haven't won a World Series since moving to the west coast in 1958. So this is the first time that the Giants have brought a World Series title to San Francisco. This is the first time EVER (!!) that the letters "SF" have been engraved on a World Series ring...and my dad and I were there to see it happen.

It was magnificent! Three old-fashioned muscle cars drove the rings out onto the field, escorted by the San Francisco cavalry, each of the four horses branded with an "SF" on the hindquarters. A red carpet ran from the Giants' dugout to home plate, where future hall of fame announcers, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper - i.e., Kruk & Kuip - stood in tuxedos announcing names of coaches and players from last year's team.

One by one they all walk up to a roaring applause from the crowd: Brian "Fear the Beard" Wilson. Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey. The aces of the starting rotation, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathon Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner. NLCS MVP Cody Ross. Aubry Huff. Pat Burrell. Andres Torres. Aaron Rowand. Freddy Sanchez.

My personal favorite was clubhouse manager, Mike Murphy, who's been with the Giants since 1958. He's the only one that's actually sat through every season in San Francisco, from Seal's Stadium to Candelstick Park to AT&T, so if there's anyone that deserves a ring it's "Murph."

Man, it was fun to watch. Freddy Sanchez joked around before the game that he was going to get a pair of custom batting gloves so that he could wear it at the plate. Kruk and Kuip noticed near the end of the ceremony that some guys, like Huff, Burrell and Ross, who have deemed themselves the Three Stooges of the clubhouse, were struggling to get their rings off. I would laugh at them, but I had the same problem with the replica ring/keychain they handed out at the gates. It's kind of a scary feeling not being able to get a ring off your finger, and then had a game to play. I'd have been in a full on panic if I were one of those guys.

Four Giants' Hall of Famers were on hand to accept honorary rings, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie Mays. About halfway through the game, owners Bill Neukom, Larry Baer, and Peter McGowan handed out rings to all Giants' announcers, Kruk, Kuip, Jon Miller, and Dave Flemming. My mother was watching the game on television at home and she said that Kruk was just speechless. What a ceremony, what an honor for the Giants, and what a pleasure to be in attendance? It was a great slice of Giants' history and I felt privileged to be a part of it.

Now, I guess I should at least mention the game, which was also stellar. It was a classic pitchers' duel between Matt Cain and the St. Louis Cardinals' young ace, Jaime Garcia. Cain pitched a gem, only allowing two runs in 7 innings. Sadly, Garcia did him one better by only allowing one run in six inning. Like always, the Giants' offense seems to go stagnant with Cain on the mound; I'm pretty sure he's received the lowest run support of any pitcher in the league over the past few years.

The score was 2-1 Cardinals heading into the bottom of the ninth. Just like the night before, the Giants were down to their final three outs. Huff grounded out to first base to start of the inning. One down. Posey got us going with a liner into right field for a single. Burrell followed up with a walk and was pinch run for by rookie-phenom, Brandon Belt. Then, Aaron Rowand, who had the game winning hit in the 12th inning the previous night, flied out to right. Two down. Our last hope was in former AL MVP and first-year Giant, Miguel Tejada.

Tejada had a showdown with Cardinals' closer, Ryan Franklin, in a marathon thirteen pitch at-bat. Franklin was ahead with two stikes, but Tejada battled back to 3-2. He fouled a few pitches off to stay alive and then finally ripped a ball to the gap in left-center. On a sunny day, that ball would have gone out of the park, no question, but this air was think on this chilly night on McCovey Cove. Centerfielder, Colby Rasmus, raced to the warning track. No telling what exactly happened, if he didn't think he was going to catch it or maybe he got spooked by the rightfielder's footsteps, but the ball hit right off the heel of Rasmus' glove and dropped to the turf. Posey and Belt crossed home. Game over. Giants win.

It was a fitting end for a magnificent evening. Congratulations to all the San Francisco Giants. Can't wait to see you do it all over again this season.