Giants feel hope from nice youth movement
Now 50 games into the season, the San Francisco Giants have the record we all expected: 25-25. Perfectly average, just like last year.
But this .500 record feels nothing like last year's 8181 campaign.
No, last year's Giants were a team devoid of both identity and direction
— a team of mercenaries that coasted through the season, not making a single wave.
Or, to put it in blunt terms: They were boring.
Perhaps it's recency bias — the Giants have been playing good ball as of late to even their record at this juncture — but the 2023 edition of the orange and black is not boring.
This squad's record might be mediocre, but for the first time in a long time, it feels like the Giants are building toward something.
An identity is starting to take form.
So even if the Giants' record never improves from the .500 mark, this season should provide hope that the best is yet to come for San Francisco. Hope is a powerful thing, and it's been a while since we felt it around these parts.
Never forget, sports are entertainment, and these days, I see parallels between baseball and the movie industry.
There are two ways to put butts in seats at home or in the theatre/stadium.
One way is to give audiences the tried and true. Big names, big explosions — rinse and repeat. Blockbuster movies have big budgets and make big money — their fans are deeply devoted.
This is the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Padres' brand of team building. It's good for revenue, but it's won one World Series since 2000. (No, the Dodgers' shortened-season World Series doesn't count.) You can't buy a title these days.
The other way to engage an audience is to be young and flashy. In that case, the franchise and the audience grow together. The trick is that when you do build a young, lovable, winning core, you can't go full A's and decide to cut it down after only a few years.
This is the path of the Braves, the Blue Jays, the Orioles, and the Diamondbacks.
This is the way the Giants won three World Series last decade.
Now, the Giants wanted to be the blockbuster kind of team — at least, that was their public position. I'll admit, I wanted that for the Giants, too.
But that's because I didn't see the possibility of being the second kind of team.
I see it now. Frankly, it's embarrassing that I couldn't see it for so long.
Casey Schmitt might be morally opposed to ball four (through Thursday's game, he's yet to take a walk in his Major League career), but he sure can smack the ball around the yard and is impressive with the glove. He's someone you want to watch every night.
Patrick Bailey has only been in the majors for a few days, but he has been so impressive, it's hard to imagine him ever returning to the minors. He's 23 years old going on 35 behind the plate.
I'm not saying he's the second coming of Buster Posey — I'd like to keep whatever credibility I have. But it has to be noted that Bailey is doing some of the same things that made Posey an immediate success.