SAN FRANCISCO — When Buster Posey took over as the San Francisco Giants’ top baseball decision-maker a little less than two years ago, he described his goal as nothing short of winning championships and making memories. He’d go about it by taking a lesson from what worked during the three-title era that he conducted from behind home plate.
The Giants won their three World Series championships between 2010 and 2014 because of shrewd complementary signings, prescient trade-deadline additions and no shortage of stars that aligned. Primarily, though, all of those things were supplemental to what mattered most: a smartly scouted and drafted core of homegrown players who began to arrive as a trickle or two followed by a crashing wave.
There was no better reminder of that lesson, and that legacy, than Saturday’s Wall of Fame induction ceremony on the shores of McCovey Cove. What do Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Joe Panik have in common, other than owning very large, very sparkly rings?
They all came up through the Giants’ system, and not just as players. As fathers and family men, too. The Giants held a pregame reception for the Wall of Fame honorees and their families at a rooftop private event space across the street from the ballpark, and you couldn’t bite into your first canapé without noticing how all the kids were reconnecting like cousins at a family reunion.
“We all got to experience the ultimate high, winning championships together, watching all these guys make great plays in the field, and we also had a lot of lows together as well, and that brings you together,” Posey said. “But when I look at them, and we’ve had time to spend with our families today, that’s a big part for me — thinking back to all the times that our kids had growing up together. And to have them back here together today to share this with us was really special.”
Each of the five honorees uttered a version of the same sentiment: This weekend is so cool, and what makes it so much cooler is that they get to celebrate it together.
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“I’m proud and I’m happy to be part of this group,” Sandoval said. “That means the organization gave opportunities to the young guys who came from the farm system to do all the things we did.”
It didn’t happen overnight. Sandoval bounded into the big leagues in August 2008 and demonstrated right away that his bat would be just as precocious as it was against Double-A pitchers. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum were already settling in as top-of-the-rotation presences. Jonathan Sánchez began to show the same potential albeit without the consistency, and then Madison Bumgarner teamed with Posey to form an all-rookie battery in 2010 that completed what became a championship rotation.
It wasn’t always easy to view that assembly process as the beginnings of a championship core — then-managing partner Bill Neukom easily could’ve fired manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean after a 90-loss season in 2008 — and there was plenty of consternation about the burden of Barry Zito’s $126 million contract, which had a half-decade to go.
Does any of this sound familiar? The parallels to the present day aren’t perfect, and in some ways, the situation is much better now. The Giants are in a much healthier financial position, having finished paying debt service on their ballpark and operating in a one-team market after the A’s exited the Bay Area. There’s no question the Giants can support a top-five payroll, and when there are sensible big swings to take in free agency, they should be equipped to compete. But the ones they’ve taken so far (Matt Chapman, Willy Adames), or absorbed (Rafael Devers), have gotten them no closer to their first winning season since 2021. From an organizational and roster standpoint, then and now, there are times the direction doesn’t seem so clear.
The work on the farm is taking place, though. The front office is confident the waves are coming. With 21-year-old first baseman Bryce Eldridge in the big leagues, and newly acquired former top prospect Marcelo Mayer likely to make his Giants debut on the next road trip (yes, it includes a series in Boston), you could argue that the first fringes of froth are arriving on the sand.
“Buster is my boss now,” Panik, now a roving minor-league infield coach, said. “Honestly, working in player development, I get to watch the youngest teams all the way up. I’m excited for what’s in the farm system, and it’s been fun for me, working with the young guys and all the talented infielders we have. The future’s gonna be bright.”
Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval were honored on the field at Oracle Park Saturday (Scott Marshall / Imagn Images)
The here and now, though, is a lot dimmer. Perhaps that explains why center fielder Drew Gilbert had his shades sitting atop the bill of his hat instead of on his face when he lost a routine fly ball in the sun Saturday.
These Giants, especially after shedding six players at the trade deadline last week, continue to plumb the depths. They fell to 49-68 on Saturday, mustering just two hits, and Gilbert’s sun ball wasn’t the only misplay in the outfield. Giants pitchers issued nine walks, including three in the sixth inning by Landen Roupp, who did not hide his discontent when manager Tony Vitello came out to collect the baseball. A home crowd of 35,506 had nothing to cheer after the pregame ceremonies. Business at the gate has been brisk, but you can sell nostalgia for only so long.
It might seem like a huge disconnect that Posey has stayed remarkably sane while watching one of the most inept seasons in franchise history. Posey has such high standards and was so dissatisfied with last year’s 81-81 season that he fired a three-time Manager of the Year Award winner, Bob Melvin, with a year to go on his contract.
But Posey is quick to cite the perspective he gained as a player. He even mentioned it during his session in the interview room: This group of Wall of Famers experienced some of the lowest lows together, too. They know how quickly fortunes can change.
“He’s going to do fantastic because he knows how to win,” Sandoval said. “I know Buster. He’s gonna do the best to get the San Francisco Giants winning again.”
The toughest part? Rebuilding the pitching staff. You don’t create a talented trio like Cain, Lincecum and Bumgarner out of thin air, although Logan Webb is a good place to start. That’s why the Giants targeted pitching in last month’s draft, taking UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora with the fourth pick, and that’s why their trade deadline strategy centered on acquiring a starting pitching prospect (right-hander Ramon Marquez, whom they obtained in the deal that sent second baseman Luis Arraez to the Phillies) whose ceiling was higher than anyone in their system with the possible exception of Flora.
There will be more to sort out before the Giants can sell a confident vision of their future. Vitello’s first year as manager hasn’t inspired a ton of confidence given how the team has played and how many rudimentary mistakes are made on a daily basis. There are no plans to end the experiment after one season, but there have been many times this year when it felt as if the Giants needed an adult in the room.
Before Posey, Belt, Crawford, Panik and Sandoval became fathers, they were little more than kids themselves. Under Bochy’s strong and steady presence, they grew up together. And then the next generation came along, one delivery at a time, and grew up with one another, too.
No wonder those clubhouses felt like one big family.
“Ah, you know my kids,” Belt said of his sons, Greyson and Augie. “They could care less about me going to the Wall of Fame. They were excited to see all their friends from when I played here, and that’s really been the most fun for me to watch. They were excited to get on the field again and most excited to see all their buddies from when I played here all those years ago.”
