Who would have thought it possible that the pitching rich, batting starved San Francisco Giants would rip through the playoffs into the World Series, much less win it all. I remember sitting in a restaurant in late August watching the Giants fighting just to work the team into the playoff picture. They barely made it on squeaking by the Padres on the last day of the season.
But in playoff baseball the Giants showed that great pitching will win out in the end. The combination of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Baumgarner, and Brian Wilson was formidable. The Giants were impossible to beat if the any of their starters could get the team into the 7th with a lead.
More remarkable was the fact that the first four starters were all homegrown, something that hasn't happened since the 1983 Baltimore Orioles.
Watching the Giants remarkable run almost made me fall in love with baseball again. I've been keeping the game at arms length since the strike of 1994. Free agency and the players inability to see that their greed is destroying the game along with the owner's inability to set salary limits has destroyed the game. Want proof, don't be surprised if the Giants don't even finish third in their division next year. Enjoy it Giant fans while you can, because you can be like me still waiting for the Royals to repeat the magic that was 1985.
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