When the San Francisco Giants lost their first two home games of the 2012 MLB playoffs to the Cincinnati Reds, I thought their remarkable season was over in a heartbeat. Shortly after these devastating losses, I hopped on the crosstown rival Oakland Athletics’ bandwagon, as they looked to be in good position to advance to the next round of the playoffs. As the next few weeks passed, I realized I had made a foolish mistake.
The 2012 Giants had chemistry unlike any other team I have ever witnessed. After fans like me counted them out in the National League Division Series (NLDS) after going down 2-0, the Giants rallied back to pull off a three-game sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati. This marked the first time it had been done in the MLB. They advanced to the NLCS only to face the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, who were coming off a huge upset victory over the Washington Nationals.
Once again, the Giants quickly found their backs against the wall after falling down 3-1 to St. Louis. The Giants again overcame adversity and won three straight games to take San Francisco back to the World Series for the second time in the last three years, shocking the entire baseball world.
The 2010 and 2012 San Francisco Giants were two completely distinct baseball clubs who won in different ways. The two teams had a few things in common, including proving the sports critics wrong and confirming that pitching and good defense win championships. The torture of 2010 did not stop as the Giants continued to bring torture to the fans day in and day out in 2012.
The Giants completely rebuilt the club this year, replacing the aging players of 2010 with young talent. Names like Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, Juan Uribe, Cody Ross and 2010 World Series MVP Edgar Renteria were all gone and forgotten. The Giants only returned one true starter (Buster Posey) for the 2012 season which was unusual coming off a World Championship. After the Giants struggled in 2011 and came up short in the final days to miss the playoffs, fans began to question the moves from Brian Sabean, the Giants’ general manager, and the rest of the front office.
Throughout the entire 2012 season, the Giants faced adversity like no other team in the MLB. The Giants’ ace Tim “the Freak” Lincecum had a pathetic start to the season and seemed to never get back on track. Lincecum had the worst year of his career, finishing the regular season with 5.18 ERA and a disappointing 10-15 record.
As the Freak continued to struggle, fan favorite pitcher Brian Wilson went down with an elbow injury requiring the dreaded “Tommy
John” surgery, which ended his season. With an empty spot at the closer position, things only got worse as All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera, who seem to be the only offense for the Giants at the time, was caught for doping by the MLB. This resulted in a season ending suspension. Fans became anxious about the 2012 season.
After the 2006 season, the Giants signed Barry Zito to the most expensive contract in MLB history for a pitcher, worth $126 million over seven years, with an $18 million option through 2014. The contract is now considered to be one of the worst contracts in MLB history. Fans soon turned against Zito after his struggles seemed to never end after the big deal was signed. After Zito did not even make the playoff roster in 2010, he was looking to step up in 2012 for his team and prove that he deserved to be making that high salary.
When playoff time arrived, Zito redeemed his embarrassing past years with the Giants by stepping up for the struggling pitching staff. Gregor Blanco replaced Cabrera in left field, while the closer spot was given to Wilson’s heavily-bearded buddy Sergio Romo. As the heavy underdogs to win the World Series in 2012, the Giants had to rely on solid pitching from Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong and Sergio Romo and offense from mid-season pickups like Gregor Blanco, Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence to lead the squad to another World Series title.
The 2012 Giants rose above every obstacle in front of them and gave their fans a break from the torture by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. The Giants faced six elimination games in the postseason and fought back to win them all, conversely to the zero elimination games they faced in 2010. In their last two trips to the World Series, the Giants are virtually untouchable with a record of 8-1.
The 2010 Giants championship run was a different story. The Giants still came in as a heavy underdogs and proved the critics wrong. The old veterans of the Giant’s club led the way, coming up with key hits day in and day out. The pitching was outstanding, as the Freak was on top of his game and Wilson was always there to close out the games if needed.
Even though the 2010 championship marked the first World Series title in 56 years for the Giants’ franchise, the 2010 championship was just a warmup for the miracle in 2012. It is unheard of to come back to win three straight on the road to stay alive and do essentially the same thing against the defending World Champions.
The whole sports world was talking about how the Tigers’ triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera and reigning Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander were going to be too much for the Giants to handle but all the sports analyst were proven wrong as they were in 2010. The Giants’ determination and chemistry were too much for the Tigers, as the Giants took their second World Series Championship in the last three years. Both championships were special in the hearts of Giants’ fans, but 2012 was just that much sweeter.
