Giants’ legend was man of the people
The scene was the same after every Giants game.
Willie McCovey, in a wheelchair, would be taken down the elevator behind the plate at AT&T Park. As a security guard walked ahead to clear a path, McCovey would be taken to his car. “Willie!” some fans would yell. Others touched him on the shoulder or patted him on the back.
At first, I felt sorry for Mac and the spectacle, which he did not have the physical capacity to avoid, until I started hearing parents tell their children, “That’s Willie McCovey. Remember this,” or words to that effect. Some of the moms and dads were not old enough to have seen McCovey play.
Then it hit me. That old cliche about being a
Giants reliever Mark Melancon was one of several players who let the deadline pass for exercising opt-out provisions in his contract.
Melancon, 33, has two years left on his contract and is owed $28 million. He was 1-4 with a 3.23 ERA and three saves in 41 relief appearances, allowing 11.1 hits per nine innings for the second straight year and a .302 opponents’ batting average in 2018.
He has made 73 appearances in the first two seasons of a $62 million, four-year deal and is due $14 million in each of the final two seasons. Cubs’ Heyward keeps deal: Chicago outfielder Jason Heyward also did not opt out of his contract.
Heyward keeps the $184 million, eight-year deal that pays him $106 million in the next five seasons.
Also, the Cubs exercised their $6.25 million option for Pedro Strop, and fellow reliever Brandon Kintzler has picked up his $5 million player option.
Chicago also claimed outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from Minnesota. Field made his major-league debut this year and hit .222 with nine homers and 21 RBIs in 83 games with the Twins and Rays. Trophy OK: The Red Sox say their brand new World Series trophy has been repaired after getting beaned by a beer can during the championship parade.
The damage occurred during Wednesday’s duck-boat ride through Boston, when boisterous fans took to throwing drinks to the players. A team photographer, Jason Varitek’s wife and Alex Cora’s daughter were among those hit.
One can struck the trophy as it was being held aloft, knocking loose some of the golden pennants that rise from the base. Briefly: The Dodgers and infielder David Freese agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million deal for next season . ... , Seattle and left-hander Marco Gonzales agreed on a two-year, $1.9 million pact . ... Also keeping their contracts instead of opting out were Boston’s Rusney Castillo and Arizona’s Yasmany Tomas, both Cuban outfielders. Both have two years left in their contracts: Tomas is owed $32.5 million and Castillo $24.5 million . ... Atlanta acquired catcher Raffy Lopez from San Diego in exchange for cash considerations . ... Tampa Bay finalized a minor-league contract with 16-year-old Cuban pitcher Sandy Gaston that includes a $2.61 million signing bonus. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound righthander ranked among the top international prospects eligible to sign with major-league teams this year.