Hope for disgruntled fans who can’t die happy
Remember when Giants fans said they could “die happy” back in 2010? And again in 2012? And could die even happier in 2014?
“We’re testing that theory,” Giants President and CEO Larry Baer acknowledged this week.
Turns out a lot of those fans were lying about their inner peace, judging by the anger emanating on social media and sports-talk radio about the Giants.
The team put the all-weever-wanted-was-one-World-Series-win to the test in a major, painful way during this 98-loss season. When you raise the bar as high as the Giants did in the past decade and then collapse as badly as the team did this season, goodwill has a way of drying up, quickly.
But Baer pointed to the 3.3 million attendance figure, third in the majors, which speaks more loudly than disgruntled fans spouting — and certainly speaks in the type of financial language the organization understands.
“We don’t take it for granted, but we’ve been blown away by the fan response,” Baer said. “There’s pretty massive goodwill in the bank.”
Baer said that the early feedback from season-ticket holders was that they understood these years occasionally happen and that customers know that the organization is still run by the people responsible for three World Series championships.
“We think we’re going to be fine, and therefore revenue will be fine,” Baer said.
This is likely, in large part, spin. Fans will expect that revenue — their personal investment — to be spent on building a winning team.
The Giants have lost 90-plus games before. Most recently in 2007 and 2008 and before that, in 1996.
“Once per decade,” Baer said.
Both times led to major overhauls. Following the ’96 season, Brian Sabean tore apart the roster and rebuilt it, trading Matt Williams for Jeff Kent and others, and trading for J.T. Snow. The team won the NL West in 1997.
In 2009, the Giants crept back to respectability after four straight losing seasons. The turnaround was largely crafted by a wide third baseman, Pablo Sandoval, and a skinny starting pitcher in Tim Lincecum. But no signature talent like that appears to be lurking on the roster or in the system.
Within another year of that 2009 turnaround, the thing Giants fans had been waiting all their lives for finally happened. They could all die happy.
Just kidding.