Six reasons the Giants are a symbol of inspiration.

One of my best friends is a baseball glove that looks to be about a hundred years old. I wonder if Teddy Roosevelt may have used it, or Honus Wagner. A splendidly dark brown Rawlings, known as “The Playmaker” and not a whole lot bigger than my hand, it realistically dates to around World War II — and it’s a fine, trusted companion every baseball season.

This year, as we watch the Giants’ travails unfold, it will come in particularly handy.

The glove came into my possession about five years ago as a gift from Duane Kuiper, the Giants broadcaster and a connoisseur of hardball leather. This is a man who used the same glove for 12 seasons as a bigleague second baseman, and when the

Junior Giants program started collecting unwanted gloves from the public, Kuiper stepped in, saying, “All those really old ones, the ones you won’t be giving to the kids? I want ’em.”

“There’s just something disturbing about throwing away an old glove,” he explained. “It breaks my heart. It’s like a good book; you’ve read it, but at least put it on a shelf.”

I had to laugh, initially, at Kuiper’s offering. To actually use this ancient relic would amount to a Tour de France cyclist being asked to compete on a tricycle. “OK, but just put it on,” he said. “Then throw this baseball into it.” Never had I experienced such a perfect pocket, that sweet spot in the heart of the glove. The ball just stuck there, as if drawn by magnetism, and it would be that way with every toss. Absolutely an infielder’s dream, and baby, let’s turn two.

As the seasons progressed, I found myself wearing that glove during telecasts, just pounding that pocket with a ball I’d tracked down in the Candlestick stands years ago. However silly it looks, this routine does a hell of a lot for my demeanor as the game endures a series of alarming changes. Whatever your companion might be — a wooden bat, an autographed ball, a photograph, a cherished souvenir, your son or daughter’s Little League cap — these are gentle reminders that the game cannot be killed.

So how does this connect with the 2021 Giants? As you may have heard, they aren’t going to win the pennant. Not with the Dodgers and Padres, perhaps the game’s two best teams, in the same division. And there are so many annoying complications for fans in tune with tradition: starting extra innings with a runner on second base, a threebatter minimum for pitchers entering a game, overbearingly loaded shifts, 15man pitching staffs, seveninning doubleheaders, and nary a contrary word for batters striking out. (Apparently it’s OK if you hit enough homers.)

The Giants conduct a lot of their business in a decidedly newage manner, but in the right frame of mind, they are well worth appreciating on several counts: A beautifully built ballpark, apparently set in its ways, took on a new personality last year. For a number of reasons — largely a pandemicforced decision to block off the archways of the rightfield arcade, thus cutting down on a stifling wind — it played as a hitter’s park. Will that continue? Top to bottom, this team

will hit. It’s a lineup full of guys who feel a .300 season is well within their reach. Delightfully, the home runs happen almost by accident. Level swings and situational hitting are all the rage for manager Gabe Kapler and a coachbycommittee approach to offense. Let’s hope the prideful Tommy La Stella — just 40 strikeouts in 549 plate appearances over the past two seasons — makes a particularly strong impression. Fans have grown fond of Mike Yastrzemski’s class, Mauricio Dubon’s palpable joy and those explosive moments from Joey Bart. Now there’s outfielder Heliot Ramos, built like Kevin Mitchell (no kidding) and a fearsomelooking hitter, perhaps building toward a lateseason debut. A sense that Kapler is willing to try anything — and a lot of it works. I’m sorry, Kapler skeptics, but I like this guy. He’s got a ton of presence and seems to have learned from past transgressions. He’ll be upbeat and positive through what looms as an againsttheodds season. Big wins over the Dodgers, because the Giants do that every year. At least one apiece from Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman. Brandon Crawford absorbing a nasty hop with the aplomb of a man sipping tea. Brandon Belt drilling a lowandin pitch down the rightfield line. Evan Longoria’s beautiful swing in a week’s worth of rhythm. And with so much intothefuture transition in the air, Buster Posey making it clear he’ll be in the Giants’ organization, somehow, for life.

So look for some inspiration in your household, whether it’s a finely tapered Louisville Slugger or a Bruce Bochy bobblehead or a fine old glove. Make them a part of your season, for they never let you down. Good friends are just that way.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Giants manager Gabe Kapler (right) has coaches who blend old school and new, with Ron Wotus (front) and Dustin Lind.

Bruce Jenkins / The Chronicle Bruce Jenkins’ wellworn Rawlings glove, known as “The Playmaker.”