When this season started back in April, I had fully expected Madison Bumgarner to be wearing something other than black and orange by now. The San Francisco Giants, under the new regime of Farhan Zaidi, seemed fully committed to a tear-down and rebuild that would hopefully repeat Zaidi’s success as the architect of the current Los Angeles Dodgers. Consequently, it seemed inevitable and appropriate that Zaidi would trade Bumgarner, who is in the final year of his contract, for prospects before the deadline. Instead, the Giants caught fire in July, winning 16 of 20 games and putting themselves tantalizingly close to playoff contention, if only temporarily. Recognizing that trading Bumgarner under those circumstances would have caused a riot both in the stands and the clubhouse of Oracle Park, Zaidi gave in to sentiment and kept Bum, knowing that he will likely depart in free agency this winter to a contender that will pay him handsomely to recreate the playoff and World Series heroics that made him forever a hero in San Francisco. It may not have been the right decision, but I was glad for it, since it afforded me the opportunity to see him one more time Saturday evening and relive a few memories.
Bumgarner did not disappoint, pitching seven innings with only one pitch blemishing a classic performance, a curve that was hit in the seventh for a two-run homer. The Giants tied the game in the bottom of the inning, then lost it when the bullpen gave up another two runs in the eighth. A win would have been nice, but seeing Bumgarner was really what mattered. Even when the Giants eventually emerge from the wilderness to contend again, I will miss his presence on the mound and the batter’s box, an old-school intimidator who always strove to pitch a full nine innings and launch a fastball into the left field bleachers. One of the latter that I got to see in person, a grand slam on my daughter’s sixteenth birthday in 2014, is a moment I will take to my grave.
So long, Bum. Hope you get to pitch in October again. If not in orange and black, perhaps you might try on a set of Cubs pinstripes for size.
