S.F. Giant Fan

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Christopher (Gonzo) was a S.F. Giants fan and he made sure that everyone that he met knew it. Most times you would see him in the classic Giants cap, all black with Orange SF lettering. There were trips to Oracle Park with Pops, his cousin Andria and his brother Alex. Rarely would the entire game be spent in the purchased seat. It was much more fun to walk the park, especially the outfield sections and take in the sights from McCovey Cove. Or wait patiently in the Gordon Biersch line with a view from home plate for a Marzen beer and garlic fries. On one occasion, sitting in section 103  ( lower right field section near the red brick wall), Christopher spotted a father helping his young son outfitted in Giants gear up the steps. He said “Pops, that is going to be you one day” Pops smiled and nodded at him understanding what he meant. Any son of his would be raised a Giants fan. 

The peak period for Bay Area Giants fans were the World Championship years of 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Christopher wore the jerseys of Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey from those teams.  Another cherished memory was when Pops and Christopher were able to share on TV the rare feat of Matt Cain’s perfect game on June 13, 2012. At the time it was the 22nd perfect game in MLB history and the first in Giant’s franchise history.

After some down years, the Giants made changes at the top with a new general manager and replacing the beloved Bruce Bochy with Gabe Kapler. As they entered the 2021 season with an unproven roster no one knew what to expect. Analysts predicted that the NL West would be a two team race between the 2020 Champion L.A. Dodgers and the San Diego Padres with the Giants only expected to win 75 games. At the core of the team were Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt carryovers from the championship teams. Then the magic happened.

They got off to a fast start and ended April in first place. No one thought they could sustain it with the Dodgers and Padres having much more talented rosters. They kept winning.

They finished the season with a franchise record and MLB best 107 victories. The NL West wasn’t decided until the last day with the Dodgers finishing 1 game back with 106 victories.

How did they do it. They were consistent with a .600+ winning percentage every month of the season. They led the league in home runs (241), 18 of those from pinch hit home runs, a MLB record. The pitching staff led the league in fewest home runs (151), fewest walks (416) and strikeouts/walk (3.43). Logan Webb went 22 consecutive games without a loss and emerged as the staff ace. Coach Gabe Kapler had MLB’s largest coaching staff with 13 that included nine who had never been on a major league staff before.

They faced the Dodgers in the NLDS playoffs, something that had never happened before in their history which would make it epic. They had two shutout victories and took the Dodgers to the brink in game 5 of the 9th inning. Unfortunately, the season ended on a controversial check swing resulting in a Dodger 2-1 victory. 

In game 3 of the NLDS, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers trailing 1-0, the Dodgers sent Gavin Lux up to pinch-hit against Camilo Doval, who pumped a 99.3 mph fastball that Lux drove deep out to center field. Pretty much everyone thought the ball was gone off the bat. Center fielder Steven Duggar went back to the wall and then moved forward. A ‘crazy’ wind knocked it down, allowing Duggar to catch it and the Giants to escape with the win.The final out of the game featured an assist from the wind but the assist should go to Christopher - divine intervention.

-Pops

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