It is still unbelievable. Leading up to the parade on Wednesday I was not entirely sure I was not dreaming.
Did the San Francisco Giants, my San Francisco Giants, really win the World Series? Did they just exorcise all the demons from playoffs past?
They did and did it in dominating fashion.
No more are the Giants in the same conversation with the Indians and Cubs. No more are the Giants a team that can never seal the deal. All the blunders and torture that have occurred throughout the storied history of the San Francisco Giants have been alleviated.
The 2002 World Series? Forgiven. Winning 103 games in 1993 only to be left out of the playoffs? Never happened.
The 1989 Series? Forgotten.
This team has brought more unequivocal joy to the San Francisco Bay Area; the only word for it has to be ecstasy. In no way is this article to rub dirt in any Texas wounds. It is to express the unbridled joy felt by a fanbase that has waited 52 years for this.
No more are people asking for Bruce Bochy’s enormous head. No more are Brian Sabean’s moves crazy and stupid. They are geniuses and we did not even realize. Baseball people who know what they are doing?
Never.
We now know how the Red Sox fans felt. We now know what long-suffering White Sox fans went through.
The past 10 World Series have taken the proverbial monkey off the backs of many baseball cities. The Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox twice, White Sox, Cardinals, Phillies, Yankees and Giants have all been champion in the past decade.
Let’s take a deeper look at this.
The Angels and Diamondbacks had never won a championship. The White Sox and Red Sox waited for more than 80 years for another.
The Phillies had not won a championship since 1980. Cardinals? Not since 1982.
San Francisco had never won a baseball championship. The Giants franchise had not won since 1954.
And they won it the way every baseball person knows is the formula: pitching and defense. They embraced the “team” mentality. Every player pulling for each other, doing what is best for the team.
Think about how long it had been for Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez. They both had never been in the playoffs. Neither had played for a winning team before joining the Giants.
It meant so much to Huff that he dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over in Game 5. Huff had not laid down a sacrifice bunt ever in his 10-year Major League career but he did it in the World Series.
The Giants players checked their egos at the door and did what they had to do.
Aaron Rowand could have made a big deal about his playing time. He didn’t. Barry Zito could have complained about being left off the playoff roster but didn’t.
Every person played their part and now they celebrate together as world champions.
The Giants are World Series Champions. Maybe now it can set in.
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