The 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants…
Good evening, Nats fans!
Hopefully Hurricane Sandy hasn’t been too bad for any of you, I did lose power for a few hours today, personally, but you don’t really care about that! I’m here to talk about the team who won the World Series last night: The San Francisco Giants. They are somewhat of a baseball chameleon, having won 2 World Series Titles in the past 3 seasons. The crazy part? Look at their roster:
2010 San Francisco Giants (Beat TEX 4-1)
| 41 | Jeremy Affeldt | 6-04 | 230 | Left | Left | 1979-06-06 |
| 53 | Denny Bautista | 6-05 | 170 | Right | Right | 1980-08-23 |
| 40 | Madison Bumgarner | 6-05 | 235 | Left | Right | 1989-08-01 |
| 18 | Matt Cain | 6-03 | 230 | Right | Right | 1984-10-01 |
| 46 | Santiago Casilla | 6-00 | 220 | Right | Right | 1980-07-25 |
| 60 | Waldis Joaquin | 6-02 | 235 | Right | Right | 1986-12-25 |
| 55 | Tim Lincecum | 5-11 | 175 | Right | Left | 1984-06-15 |
| 49 | Javier Lopez | 6-04 | 220 | Left | Left | 1977-07-11 |
| 49 | Joe Martinez | 6-02 | 195 | Right | Left | 1983-02-26 |
| 52 | Brandon Medders | 6-01 | 190 | Right | Right | 1980-01-26 |
| 59 | Guillermo Mota | 6-04 | 240 | Right | Right | 1973-07-25 |
| 52 | Ramon Ramirez | 5-11 | 200 | Right | Right | 1981-08-31 |
| 47 | Chris Ray | 6-03 | 200 | Right | Right | 1982-01-12 |
| 54 | Sergio Romo | 5-10 | 185 | Right | Right | 1983-03-04 |
| 45 | Dan Runzler | 6-04 | 235 | Left | Left | 1985-03-30 |
| 57 | Jonathan Sanchez | 6-00 | 200 | Left | Left | 1982-11-19 |
| 37 | Todd Wellemeyer | 6-03 | 205 | Right | Right | 1978-08-30 |
| 38 | Brian Wilson | 6-02 | 205 | Right | Right | 1982-03-16 |
| 75 | Barry Zito | 6-02 | 205 | Left | Left | 1978-05-13 |
| # | Catchers | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 1 | Bengie Molina | 5-11 | 225 | Right | Right | 1974-07-20 |
| 28 | Buster Posey | 6-01 | 220 | Right | Right | 1987-03-27 |
| 22 | Eli Whiteside | 6-02 | 220 | Right | Right | 1979-10-22 |
| # | Infielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 2 | Emmanuel Burriss | 6-00 | 205 | Right | Both | 1985-01-17 |
| 34 | Matt Downs | 6-01 | 190 | Right | Right | 1984-03-19 |
| 14 | Mike Fontenot | 5-08 | 165 | Right | Left | 1980-06-09 |
| 17 | Aubrey Huff | 6-04 | 225 | Right | Left | 1976-12-20 |
| 10 | Travis Ishikawa | 6-03 | 225 | Left | Left | 1983-09-24 |
| 16 | Edgar Renteria | 6-01 | 200 | Right | Right | 1975-08-07 |
| 29 | Ryan Rohlinger | 6-01 | 195 | Right | Right | 1983-10-07 |
| 21 | Freddy Sanchez | 5-11 | 185 | Right | Right | 1977-12-21 |
| 48 | Pablo Sandoval | 5-11 | 240 | Right | Both | 1986-08-11 |
| 5 | Juan Uribe | 6-00 | 240 | Right | Right | 1979-03-22 |
| # | Outfielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 20 | John Bowker | 6-01 | 205 | Left | Left | 1983-07-08 |
| 9 | Pat Burrell | 6-04 | 235 | Right | Right | 1976-10-10 |
| 7 | Mark DeRosa | 6-01 | 215 | Right | Right | 1975-02-26 |
| 34 | Darren Ford | 5-09 | 190 | Right | Right | 1985-10-01 |
| 1, 6 | Jose Guillen | 5-11 | 165 | Right | Right | 1976-05-17 |
| 13 | Cody Ross | 5-10 | 195 | Left | Right | 1980-12-23 |
| 33 | Aaron Rowand | 6-01 | 200 | Right | Right | 1977-08-29 |
| 12 | Nate Schierholtz | 6-01 | 205 | Right | Left | 1984-02-15 |
| 56 | Andres Torres | 5-10 | 195 | Right | Both | 1978-01-26 |
| 8 | Eugenio Velez | 6-01 | 160 | Right | Both | 1982-05-16 |
2012 San Francisco Giants (Beat DET 4-0)
| 41 | Jeremy Affeldt | 6-04 | 230 | Left | Left | 1979-06-06 |
| 56 | Travis Blackley | 6-03 | 205 | Left | Left | 1982-11-04 |
| 40 | Madison Bumgarner | 6-05 | 235 | Left | Right | 1989-08-01 |
| 18 | Matt Cain | 6-03 | 230 | Right | Right | 1984-10-01 |
| 46 | Santiago Casilla | 6-00 | 220 | Right | Right | 1980-07-25 |
| 65 | Steven Edlefsen | 6-02 | 195 | Right | Both | 1985-06-27 |
| 51, 52 | Eric Hacker | 6-01 | 230 | Right | Both | 1983-03-26 |
| 34 | Clay Hensley | 5-11 | 190 | Right | Right | 1979-08-31 |
| 70 | George Kontos | 6-03 | 225 | Right | Right | 1985-06-12 |
| 55 | Tim Lincecum | 5-11 | 175 | Right | Left | 1984-06-15 |
| 49 | Javier Lopez | 6-04 | 220 | Left | Left | 1977-07-11 |
| 61 | Shane Loux | 6-02 | 225 | Right | Right | 1979-08-31 |
| 79, 63 | Jean Machi | 6-00 | 260 | Right | Right | 1982-02-01 |
| 50 | Jose Mijares | 6-00 | 230 | Left | Left | 1984-10-29 |
| 59 | Guillermo Mota | 6-04 | 240 | Right | Right | 1973-07-25 |
| 87, 37, 43 | Dan Otero | 6-03 | 215 | Right | Right | 1985-02-19 |
| 31 | Brad Penny | 6-04 | 230 | Right | Right | 1978-05-24 |
| 52 | Yusmeiro Petit | 6-00 | 180 | Right | Right | 1984-11-22 |
| 54 | Sergio Romo | 5-10 | 185 | Right | Right | 1983-03-04 |
| 45 | Dan Runzler | 6-04 | 235 | Left | Left | 1985-03-30 |
| 32 | Ryan Vogelsong | 6-04 | 215 | Right | Right | 1977-07-22 |
| 38 | Brian Wilson | 6-02 | 205 | Right | Right | 1982-03-16 |
| 75 | Barry Zito | 6-02 | 205 | Left | Left | 1978-05-13 |
| # | Catchers | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 28 | Buster Posey | 6-01 | 220 | Right | Right | 1987-03-27 |
| 29 | Hector Sanchez | 5-11 | 225 | Right | Both | 1989-11-17 |
| 22 | Eli Whiteside | 6-02 | 220 | Right | Right | 1979-10-22 |
| # | Infielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 13 | Joaquin Arias | 6-01 | 170 | Right | Right | 1984-09-21 |
| 9 | Brandon Belt | 6-05 | 220 | Left | Left | 1988-04-20 |
| 2 | Emmanuel Burriss | 6-00 | 205 | Right | Both | 1985-01-17 |
| 35 | Brandon Crawford | 6-02 | 215 | Right | Left | 1987-01-21 |
| 33 | Charlie Culberson | 6-01 | 200 | Right | Right | 1989-04-10 |
| 50 | Conor Gillaspie | 6-01 | 200 | Right | Left | 1987-07-18 |
| 17 | Aubrey Huff | 6-04 | 225 | Right | Left | 1976-12-20 |
| 6 | Brett Pill | 6-04 | 225 | Right | Right | 1984-09-09 |
| 48 | Pablo Sandoval | 5-11 | 240 | Right | Both | 1986-08-11 |
| 19 | Marco Scutaro | 5-10 | 185 | Right | Right | 1975-10-30 |
| 5 | Ryan Theriot | 5-11 | 185 | Right | Right | 1979-12-07 |
| # | Outfielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 7 | Gregor Blanco | 5-11 | 185 | Left | Left | 1983-12-24 |
| 53 | Melky Cabrera | 6-00 | 200 | Left | Both | 1984-08-11 |
| 51 | Justin Christian | 6-01 | 195 | Right | Right | 1980-04-03 |
| 68, 13 | Xavier Nady | 6-00 | 215 | Right | Right | 1978-11-14 |
| 16 | Angel Pagan | 6-02 | 200 | Right | Both | 1981-07-02 |
| 57, 14 | Francisco Peguero | 5-11 | 195 | Right | Right | 1988-06-01 |
| 8 | Hunter Pence | 6-04 | 220 | Right | Right | 1983-04-13 |
| 12 | Nate Schierholtz | 6-01 | 205 | Right | Left | 1984-02-15 |
Pretty crazy to see how much turnover there was in only 2 years, with Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval being the only two players starting in both Fall Classics. One would think a team does NOT win that way.
What does this have to do with the Nats, you ask? Mike Rizzo and Co. cannot, I repeat, CANNOT be afraid of change, in the right places. Brian Sabean has been able to make a lot of changes, but with a few core values: continuity in the Coaching Staff, and always focus on pitching. Strong bullpen, Strong Rotation. The Depth that the Giants displayed this season and postseason, with Sergio Romo’s emergence as a Closer, Tim Lincecum’s emergence as a presence in the bullpen (albeit for $20MM), shows us that TEAMS truly win Championships. That, to me, is the beauty of baseball. TEAMS win. That never happens in Football, look at the Colts. They lose Peyton Manning and my High School Football team could have beaten them. Basketball? Forget it! If your team does not have a star player, you may as well not show up. Hockey, maybe, although you can win with good goaltending, winning a lot of games 1-0. The beauty of baseball is that it truly takes 25 men in a clubhouse to win. That’s what the Giants have built, and proven. Hopefully, the Nats can follow in the Giants footsteps in that respect!
Congrats to the Giants and GO NATS!!!
-Nick
NickNats90
