Aching to succeed
Thompson, Chapman, Bosa and Posey each a contender to be Bay Area’s Comeback Kid
Which Bay Area athlete will write the best comeback story in 2021?
The Giants, A’s, 49ers and Warriors each have a key player who will be coming back from an extended absence this year. Each team has a legitimate shot to go all the way, if it gets a big contribution from its comeback man.
(Yes, even the Giants have a shot. Experts give them a reasonable chance to sneak into the playoffs, and all you need is a foot in the door. Right 2010, ’12 and ’14 Giants?)
So who will be crowned Comeback Kid of 2021? Klay Thompson, Buster Posey, Matt Chapman or Nick Bosa? They have a lot in common.
All four are explosive, spectacular, AllStarlevel performers.
All are fairly quiet, but not introverted. All are team leaders.
All are great defensive players. Let’s break ’em down.
Klay Thompson: Turned 31 on Feb. 8.
The grade for Thompson’s comeback will be only partial this year, because he won’t return until the start of the 202122 season, but by the end of the year, we should have an indication of whether the Warriors’ dynasty will be revived or retired.
Thompson ruptured an Achilles tendon in November. Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant has returned from his Achilles tear as good as ever, but he had several extra months to heal because of the pandemic. Fortunately for the Warriors, Thompson heals faster than the preacher’s shill at a tent revival.
The guard is ridiculously consistent, good for 20 points a game, 40plus% from 3, defending the hell out of the opponent’s best noncenter. Can’t be replaced.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr likes to say, “Klay is zero maintenance,” but it’s more like he is minusmaintenance — he helps maintain the other players, with his Zenlike leadership.
Another Warriors’ championship? No Klay, no way.
Matt Chapman: Turns 28 on April 28.
Chapman had surgery in September to repair a torn hip labrum, so if he is ready to go, it’s a fairly quick recovery, and he pencils in as an AL MVP candidate. In 2019, Chapman had 36 homers and an OPS of .848, and was baseball’s premier defensive player.
A hip problem will turn a great hitter into a strikeout machine. Ask Buster Posey, who, by the way, had the same hip surgeon, Dr. Marc Philippon. If Posey and Chapman come back strong, they can sing backup to Huey Lewis: “Hip, hip, my hip is repaired.”
An ominous note: Posey had his surgery in August 2018, then went right from rehab to spring training, as Chapman is doing, and struggled in 2019. Posey did look great in spring training of 2020, before he opted out of the season. So curb your enthusiasm for Chapman.
The A’s future rides with Chapman. He is arbitration eligible going into next season, and how the A’s handle that will be an indicator of whether they plan to become a team with a bigleague payroll, or let another key player slip away. How Chapman plays this season will tell us a lot.
Chapman sets a tone, he plays third base like Bosa plays defensive end, and teammates adjust their intensity to keep up.
With Chapman, the only disappointment is that the media has been slow to adopt the nickname I proposed, honoring his defense: The Unwelcome Matt (hey, nicknames are supposed to be corny).
Buster Posey: Turns 34 on March 27.
By the end of 2021, Posey will be either a great comeback story, or a great former Giants catcher. That’s not what he’s saying, but Posey might not want to go on playing baseball as a slaphitting shadow of his former self, as he was in 2019.
But if he’s back? Wow, what a boost for the Giants to have a rocksolid MVP and Gold Glove candidate squatting behind the dish.
Buster Ballgame’s last great season was 2016, when he won a Gold Glove and was No. 14 in the MVP voting. Can he get back to that level?
Nick Bosa: Turns 24 on Oct. 23.
As a rookie two seasons ago, Bosa led the defense that led the 49ers into the Super Bowl. Give him another full season paired with Fred Warner and the 49ers will be a topfive defense.
The most oftheard phrase around the 49ers last season was, “Wait ’til next season when we get Bosa back.” At the risk of being Wendell Wetblanket, I urge caution. Bosa missed most of his final season at Ohio State because of surgery for a coremuscle tear. He injured an ankle early in his first training camp, then last season limped away after Game 2 with a torn ACL.
It’s possible that Bosa is so freakishly strong — his thighs look like beer kegs — that his superstructure is overloaded and he will be injury prone. Or maybe his injuries have been just football luck.
For the 49ers to click, they must have Nick.
Gentlemen, start your comebacks!