San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Easy call for Gausman’s dad to visit, watch
SEATTLE — Players’ families, like all fans, were shut out of watching live baseball last year, so Clair Gausman didn’t get to see his son, Kevin, pitch for the Giants at all — until Opening Night against the Mariners.
“As soon as I found out he was starting, I said, ‘I’m going to be there!’ ” said the elder Gausman, who flew in from Denver for Thursday’s game. “It was so fun! It was really exciting.”
Clair Gausman is a typical baseball dad and a former coach, though. Asked about his son’s strong outing — 52⁄3 innings, one run — he shot back, “Well, he had two walks ...”
The most critical member of the family, it turns out, wasn’t even there. Gausman’s mom, Jo, had to remain home in Colorado. When the two attend their son’s games together, Clair Gausman said, “I don’t say much, I just try to blend in, but my wife is the opposite. If Kevin throws three balls in a row and walks some one, she’s yelling, ‘Get him out of there, he’s toast!’ ”
Clair Gausman certainly won’t be found yelling at umpires if Kevin gets squeezed any. He’s a former college football referee who is now a replay official in the Big 12 and the Mountain West conferences. In fact, he and Giants radio broadcaster Dave Flemming may have kickstarted Gausman’s Giants’ career. Clair Gausman and Flemming ran into each other at a San Jose State game both were working, and Flemming mentioned that San Francisco might be a nice fit, with the Giants needing starting pitching. “I did tell Kevin, ‘Hey, what a nice ballpark they have there!’ ” Clair Gausman said with a laugh.
MLB replay isn’t to every fan’s taste, but a football replay official watches other sports’ systems with a more discerning eye, and Gausman said he likes how MLB handles things. “It’s one way or another, they don’t mess around with ‘(the call) stands,’ they don’t say, ‘Well, maybe he was safe, maybe he was out,’ ” Gausman said. “There’s nothing in the middle. I like that. You just make the decision.” Gausman was one of several Giants family members in Seattle, but none could stay at the team hotel because of the MLB COVID19 protocol. He finally got to see his son Friday for lunch, outdoors, socially distanced and following every rule.
Clair Gausman’s experience at TMobile Park was terrific, he said, with efficient safety procedures and a positive atmosphere. He also didn’t mind the reduced capacity, with 8,000plus on hand for each of the first two games.
“This is going to sound a little bit weird, but there were no lines for refreshments and drinks, so that was easy, and the bathrooms were deserted,” he said. “There’s nobody sitting in front of you or behind you, that was nice — but I wish it was back to normal. And you hope that it’ll get there soon.
“It was just nice to be back at the field. The Mariners did such a great job, the fireworks beforehand were fun, it’s a great stadium. I went up to the top level (Friday) and saw all the views of the water and the Olympic mountains and downtown Seattle. Just a great place.”
“It was so fun! It was really exciting.” Clair Gausman, on watching his son Kevin pitch for the Giants for the first time