I got another letter from my pal Larry. Dear Hawk, We’re back in our offices now, confetti still stuck to our shoes, and diving into the preparations for 2015. But my first order of business is to thank you. Through all the ups and downs of the season, you were there. No matter the won-loss record, you showed up with Panda hats and Hunter Pence signs and orange everything. Your love and energy carried our players through some very tough days this summer. And they answered your unwavering belief in them with a hard-fought, absolutely brilliant October. The San Francisco Giants became the first National League team since the 1940s to win three World Series Championships in five years. It is amazing, the stuff of dreams. And yet it is not a surprise. This is what happens when a community lifts a team, and a team lifts a community. It’s what happens when we’re all in this together – the fans, the players, the coaches, the front office, the ownership group, every usher and vendor in the park. Players from around the league recognize that. Each year, our experienced, smart and passionate baseball department led by Brian Sabean constructs a roster with painstaking care and an exacting eye, finding and developing those few special players with the grit, heart and the talent to be Giants. In Bruce Bochy, we have a manager whose own will and resilience set the tone for his team. That championship blood he so admires in his players? It coursed through his veins first. When he goes to battle, his team follows. And what a team. These players saw themselves as world champions from the first day of spring training. They didn’t care about history or prognostications or anything except each other. They went into the final game of the World Series knowing no team in 35 years had won a Game 7 on the road. They didn’t care – they scrapped and fought in Kansas City — just as they did in Pittsburgh, Washington and St. Louis – until that last ball of a long season descended into Pablo’s glove. This “find a way” culture also permeates a Giants front office of exceptional, tireless and passionate employees. They collaborate, they innovate and they are customer-centric and community-centric. They are the unsung heroes of our organization and a big key to our success. I’m already excited about what the 2015 season might hold. What will be the next chapter in the growing legend of Madison Bumgarner, the best post-season pitcher in baseball history? How many more highlight reels will be filled by young, homegrown stars such as Buster Posey, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt? And by Gregor Blanco and Hunter Pence? Might we see a third no-hitter from Tim Lincecum? Can Yusmeiro Petit break his own Major League record of 46 consecutive batters retired in a single season? Can Jeremy Affeldt notch two more scoreless innings in a post-season to break the immortal Mariano Rivera’s record? On behalf of everyone at the San Francisco Giants, thank you again for carrying us through another dramatic and exhilarating season. No team anywhere has fans like ours. We could not be more grateful. We look forward to seeing you at FanFest in February! Sincerely, Larry Laurence M. Baer, President & CEO
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 06:52:45 +0000
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