The 2014 San Francisco Giants: An MSR Retrospective

It has been a week since the celebrations have been had, the champagne was spilled, and the orange-and-black confetti was scattered all over a rain-soaked Market Street sea of Giants fans.

It’s also been a common thing to see in the midst of the autumn months on an even-numbered year in San Francisco. The city is starting to make a habit of it, and it’s all thanks to their baseball team: the San Francisco Giants, winners of three World Series titles in five years (2010, 2012, 2014).

From an up-and-down regular season to an incredible postseason run, it’s difficult to summarize how these Giants – this winning band of affectionately-titled “cockroaches” that was practically glued together out of what seemed like spare parts – got to the point of hoisting the Commissioners’ Trophy on October 29th.

Well, here goes nothing.

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Coming off a disappointing 2013, San Francisco still had the core of a team that had won World Series titles in two out of the last four years – including 2012 rally man Hunter Pence, who signed a 5-year, $90 million deal in the offseason. San Francisco also grabbed key free agents: Michael Morse, former Mariners and Orioles slugger, was meant to be a permanent fixture at left field, and a key power bat to propel the Giants offense. SP Tim Hudson came over from Atlanta to replace veteran Barry Zito, whose option was declined for the 2014 season. Only fitting that the City by the Bay would replace one former Oakland A’s ace with another.

Hudson and Morse would prove to be key contributors on the mound and at the batter’s box, respectively, to begin the season. The 38-year-old hurler was apparently rejuvenated in San Francisco, starting the regular season with an impressive 7-2 record, with a 1.81 ERA, bolstering a struggling starting rotation that went a combined 18-15 in that same span. Meanwhile, Morse would make an immediate impact on offense, accounting for 53 hits, 28 runs, 38 RBIs and 11 HRs through May.

2014 additions Michael Morse (left) and Tim Hudson would see their first deep postseason action with the Giants in 2014.

When they began the season on March 31st, no one knew that the Giants’ Opening Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks would be somewhat symbolic of their entire season. Despite falling behind 4-1 early, the Giants would grind their way back to complete a come-from-behind victory with a two-run HR by C Buster Posey, eventually winning 9-8. Opening Day starter Madison Bumgarner would struggle in his first outing (4.0 IP, 4 R, 0 ER), but the offense and the bullpen would pick him up in the late innings.

And so it was – the Giants would go through the whole season with what many would consider an anxiety-ridden roller coaster. To the Giants’ credit, their record would never dip below .500 in 2014 – the closest they would fall would be 11-10, early in the season. From there, however, they would go on to build a 32-11 record, holding a league-best 43-21 mark on June 8.

It was enough for fans and pundits to speculate about “even-year” magic at AT&T Park – as it were, the Giants won their two World Series in even-numbered years, and this team was right on schedule. A combination of solid pitching, timely hitting and good fortune made it seem like the baseball Gods were smiling on the Orange-and-Black after 64 games. At that torrid pace, the Giants were projected to win 109 games.

And the Giants were involved in some historic performances during the regular season. Despite all of his recent struggles, SP Tim Lincecum still managed some good outings in 2014 – none as good as his no-hit performance against the San Diego Padres. It was the second time he had no-hit the Fathers in two seasons, this time a 113-pitch gem that saw him face 28 batters – one walk shy of a perfect game. He is only the second pitcher in MLB history to throw two no-hitters against the same team, and the first Giants pitcher since Christy Mathewson in 1905 to throw two career no-hitters.

Tim Lincecum would throw his second career no-hitter in a down year that saw him stuck deep in the bullpen.

Meanwhile, another Giants ace set records not with his arm, but with his bat. Madison Bumgarner hit two grand slams in 2014 – one on April 11 against Colorado and the next on July 13 vs. Arizona – being the first pitcher in 48 years to achieve such a feat. His second came on the heels of a Grand Slam courtesy of C Buster Posey in the previous inning, making the duo the first batterymates (pitcher and catcher) to hit a Salami in the same game in Major League history.

Another, more unheralded hurler made a little history of his own. SP/RP Yusmeiro Petit – who came within one out of pitching a perfect game last September – settled into a middle-relief role starting in June of this year. It would pay off well for Petit, who gave struggling starters between June and August some much needed breaks. Furthermore, he would become so good at his middle relief role, he would go on to retire 46 straight batters from a period between July 22 and August 28 – a major-league record previously held by Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle (45 consecutive batters retired).

And through it all, there was Hunter Pence in the middle of it – his quirky swing, iron-man work ethic and high visibility caught the attention of fans and rivals alike. He was the one who started the Giants’ unique “Yes” Movement in May – a tribute to WWE Superstar, and then-WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan. While hitting .277 on the season with 20 HRs and 74 RBIs, Pence was key as a team rally point. And even with a separate “Hunter Pence Sign” movement that started at Citi Field in an effort to troll the right fielder, seemingly nothing deterred the 31-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas to drive the Giants’ bandwagon as far as he could take it.

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However, despite the many achievements of Giants players – including All-Star berths for Bumgarner, Hudson and Pence – San Francisco metaphorically ran into a wall starting on June 9. It started by losing three of four in a home series against the Nationals, then two blown saves at home by then-closer Sergio Romo to the Colorado Rockies on consecutive nights that sent them spiraling to a 53-43 record by the All-Star Break – a horrid 10-23 mark since June 9. Their 10-game lead in the NL West over their arch-rival Los Angeles Dodgers was gone, and the Dodgers would take a half-game division lead to the All-Star break.

The two NL West rivals would duke it out into the later months of the 2014 season despite San Francisco’s struggles in the summer months. Ultimately, it would be the Dodgers, headed by a three-headed monster of a rotation in Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, who would get the better of the regular season rivalry: they would go on to win 7 of 9 second-half matchups against the Giants in 2014, en route to their second straight NL West title.

Meanwhile, the Giants were scrambling to make emergency moves – no matter what they said to the contrary – in order to make up for the losses of vital players. SP Matt Cain, who had struggled for most of 2014, was shut down in August after he needed surgery on his elbow to remove bone spurs that had been there his entire career. CF Angel Pagan, arguably one of the Giants’ most important position players, was also shut down in September due to back surgery.

The Giants managed to make a postseason run despite losing key cogs Angel Pagan (left) and Matt Cain during the regular season.

That was not even taking into account the absence of 2012 NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro for most of the season – a conundrum at 2B that the Giants tried answering with a number of players, including an over-the-hill Dan Uggla.

So, how did they answer these questions at key positions? To replace Cain, the Giants traded for Boston Red Sox SP Jake Peavy – a good fit for the struggling starter, as he played under manager Bruce Bochy in San Diego from 2002 to 2006. He performed well under the circumstances, especially in Cain’s stead – despite starting his Giants career 0-3 witha 4.82 ERA, he would finish strong by winning six out of his last seven regular season decisions, and going undefeated in the month of September.

As for the quandary that was second base, they found a diamond in the rough in rookie INF Joe Panik. Called up on June 21, the 24-year-old from Yonkers, New York grew into his role as a reliable everyday second-baseman, despite the fact that he was drafted in the first round of 2011 as a shortstop. He posted impressive hitting numbers (.305/.343/.368) in only 73 games during the regular season, and Bochy relied on, and trusted, the rookie throughout the remainder of 2014.

After pushing so many of the right buttons over the last five years as manager of the Giants, Bruce Bochy’s third World Series title will likely send him to Cooperstown when he decides to hang it up.

But what of the outfield? Angel Pagan’s replacements – which included OFs Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez – were serviceable enough to make due for such a huge responsibility. It worked out as well as the Giants could hope for. While the moves couldn’t help San Francisco catch Los Angeles for the division in September – being mathematically eliminated from the NL West Pennant on September 24 via a loss to the Dodgers in LA – they managed to grab a coveted Wild Card spot the very next day, thanks to a Milwaukee Brewers loss that mathematically booted them from postseason contention. It wasn’t the way they were hoping to enter the playoffs, but one thing was certain:

They were in.

They had a chance.

And when it came to the Giants and a six-series winning streak in the postseason, a chance was all San Francisco really needed.

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Yet another Orange October would begin with yet another rally by none other than Hunter Pence. With his “Yes” Movement still fresh in his own mind, he would lead Giants fans in a chant of “Yes!” before they began their month-long trek.

It would start on the road at PNC Park in Pittsburgh against the Pirates, who owned the first NL Wild Card spot and home-field advantage. It would be on the bump at PNC where one pitcher would begin a legendary run in the postseason, and another would meet an embarrassing end at the bat of one Brandon Crawford.

In the winner-take-all matchup, the Giants turned to Madison Bumgarner, while the Pirates gave the baseball to Edinson Volquez, unable to send out ace Gerrit Cole as a result of his 7-inning performance just three days before. It would prove to be a tactical error of monumental proportions for the home team.

While Bumgarner cruised to a complete-game, four-hit shutout against a hot Pittsburgh lineup, Volquez was considerably less fortunate. He hung a breaking ball on Crawford in the fourth inning of a scoreless tie, only for the Giants SS to take it over the right field wall with the bases loaded. While San Francisco would pad their lead to eight later in the game, it was all Bumgarner would need to finish off the Pirates on their home field:

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Next, it was on to Washington, against the NL-best Nationals. Once again considered the underdog and against a team that had dominated them in the regular season, San Francisco would show their resilience as a battle-tested postseason squad.

Peavy would translate his late regular season success to a Game 1 victory over Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg, throwing 5.2 innings of 2-hit ball against a potent Nats lineup. Strasburg, meanwhile, was knocked out after 5 innings, giving up 2 runs in the loss. The Giants would utilize rookie reliever Hunter Strickland in the 3-2 victory, despite his home run troubles against Nationals slugger Bryce Harper.

Game 2 would be just as challenging, as they trailed 1-0 with two outs in the ninth inning. A Pablo Sandoval RBI double would tie the game while a gun-down at home on Posey would eventually send the game – practically won by the Nationals but given away due to a seemingly unneeded pitching change by manager Matt Williams – into extras. Petit’s middle-relief services came in handy in the biggest of ways as he threw 5 shutout innings en route to a 2-1 victory, as Brandon Belt would hit the tie-breaking HR in the top of the 18th.

Yusmeiro Petit’s emergence as an elite long reliever in 2014 was crucial to the Giants’ World Series run.

The Giants were settled in the driver’s seat, as they had Bumgarner in their back pocket for a home start in Game 3. Surprisingly, however, a rare gaffe by the postseason ace in the late innings – combined by an impressive outing by Nationals starter Doug Fister – sent the series to a second game in San Francisco.

Against Gio Gonzalez, the Giants proved that scoring unconventionally was still scoring. They got all three of their runs without recording a single hit: the first on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning; the second on a Joe Panik groundout in the same inning; and the third, decisive run on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the seventh. Despite two RBIs by Bryce Harper, the Giants would hold on to win the NLDS with their tried-and-(sometimes) true relievers, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla recording zero hits in the final two innings.

San Francisco would then face a familiar foe in the Championship Series. However, it would not be their rivals to the south, as the Dodgers would be eliminated in four games – two of those games with Clayton Kershaw on the mound – by the team that represented the National League in the World Series in 2011 and 2013: the St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, they would turn to Bumgarner to steal home-field advantage away from the hard-hitting Cards.

MadBum would do his job, shutting down St. Louis’ offense with a 7.2-inning shutout on 112 pitches with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Giants would only need three runs early in game – including another unearned run – to secure the victory against a hobbled ace in Adam Wainwright. Then, despite another good performance by Peavy in Game 2, and a tie game headed to the bottom of the ninth, the Giants failed to duplicate the feat they accomplished in Washington, as a Kolten Wong walk-off HR tied the series at 1 game apiece.

However, with three games at AT&T Park, the Giants had a chance to wrap up a second postseason series in San Francisco. And, while there were times it was almost certain the series would return to Busch Stadium, ending the series in the City by the Bay was exactly what they accomplished.

It began with a wacky Game 3 that saw the Giants score 4 runs in the first, only for the Cardinals to tie things up in the seventh. It would take a tenth-inning rally – and an unfortunate throwing error on a routine play by Cardinals reliever Randy Choate – to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead.

But in Game 4, it looked like the Cardinals would cruise to a series tie, leading 4-1 in the third inning and chasing struggling SP Ryan Vogelsong off the mound. In stepped NLDS Game 2 hero Yusmeiro Petit, who would pitch 3 innings of 1-hit ball and stemming the St. Louis tide. Then the Giants would show the baseball world why their manager referred to them as “the Cockroaches” – a tough team to kill. The offense would wake up and score five straight runs – including another two unearned – to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the NLCS.

Then came Game 5 – another start by Madison Bumgarner that was not to be as masterful as his first in the series, giving up three runs in 8 innings pitched; a better start by Wainwright, giving up only 2 runs in 7 innings pitched; a pinch-hit game-tying HR by an injury-addled Michael Morse in the eighth inning:

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Lest we forget a brilliant quasi-save by Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt to prevent a Cardinals rally with the bases loaded.

The baseball world knows what happened next.

Two words: Travis Ishikawa.

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And the San Francisco Giants were headed to their third World Series since 2010.

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This World Series would be the first the Giants would participate in since 2002 where they would not hold home-field advantage. Oddly enough, this would not be the only similarity this Giants team would share with the 2002 squad that would eventually lose to the 2002 World Champion Anaheim Angels.

Like their counterparts from 12 years ago, the Giants reached the World Series as a Wild Card underdog, with an unconventional team that ended winning the NLCS … (dramatic pause)

… against the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.

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The Anaheim Angels, like the Kansas City Royals, were another Wild Card team that reached the 2002 World Series almost inexplicably, by going through two hard-hitting teams in the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. As many Giants historians already know, San Francisco was excruciatingly close to taking the Commissioner’s Trophy in Game 6, with a 5-run lead in the late innings, only to lose the game, 6-5, and ultimately lose the series in 7 games. You could say that the Anaheim Angels were a de facto “Team of Destiny.”

This Kansas City Royals team – reaching their first postseason since they won the title 29 years ago – were made of the same stuff. After all, making the postseason in the first Wild Card spot, they were down 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning of their Wild Card game vs. the Oakland Athletics. And with former Boston Red Sox hero Jon Lester on the mound for the A’s, they were looking to go the same way of the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, through sheer will – along with a number of clutch base steals and small-ball plays – they managed to tie things up in the ninth, and would come back again in the bottom of the 12th from a one-run deficit to earn a spot in the ALDS, ironically enough, against the powerhouse Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

From there, they would dominate the American League postseason. Kansas City would go on to sweep both the Angels in the ALDS and the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, blessed with the power of coming back from any sort of deficit in any given AL playoff game. Their combination of speed, savvy and power bats on offense was the perfect combination. Throw in a young rotation anchored by former Tampa Bay Rays ace James Shields that almost didn’t comprehend the magnitude of the situation before them, and it was almost as if they were destined to repeat the feat their 1985 counterparts, led by Hall of Famer George Brett, accomplished.

Above all, they presented the greatest challenge the Giants would face in any postseason in recent memory. While the last two World Series didn’t see the Giants get to a Game 6, they also had a supreme pitching staff to back up a offensive lineup that knew timely hitting like the back of their hand. The former was something they could not brandish this time around – Jake Peavy was no Matt Cain. Tim Hudson, no prime-time Tim Lincecum. Vogelsong wasn’t the same as he was in 2012.

And, so it was – the 2014 Fall Classic was an ultimate matchup of “Destiny vs. Dynasty”: the Giants’ right to call themselves a modern-day baseball dynasty (with a little even-numbered year magic of their own), vs. the stars aligning for this young, dynamic team of upstarts to replicate a championship almost three decades in the making.

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It wasn’t a question for either team who would start in Game 1: the aces that got them there.

In a matchup between the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner and the Royals’ James Shields, it was the textbook definition of a World Series mismatch. After all, the Giants had an undefeated Fall Classic pitcher on their side, on top of one that hadn’t given up a run in World Series play. He had pitched a stellar postseason so far, and it didn’t look like he would stop. Bumgarner would pitch seven stellar innings, giving up his only run of the series on a solo shot by Royals C Salvador Perez.

Meanwhile, Shields, who had gone 1-0 in the postseason, while having a 7.20 ERA in his other two postseason starts – both of which were no-decisions – seemed in over his head against the same kind of small-ball lineup the Kansas City Royals possessed on their side. He would give up 5 runs in only 3 innings on the mound, en route to the Royals’ first loss of the postseason, 7-1. The Giants have given themselves another opportunity to potentially win a postseason series at home.

Those hopes were squashed in the next two games of the series for San Francisco. While they had done their job in Game 1, they were walloped in Game 2, despite scoring first on a Gregor Blanco lead-off HR. Tied at 2 in the top of the sixth, SP Jake Peavy allowed two men on base after walking Eric Hosmer. Peavy was pulled for the Giants’ heralded bullpen, but couldn’t get out of the jam. Jean Machi allowed the go-ahead run to score on a Billy Butler single, and the floodgates opened when Strickland, the rookie fireballer, saw the mound. In all, after Strickland gave up a two-run homer to Omar Infante, the Royals scored five runs in the sixth, effectively ending the game, as the Royals’ triumvirate of relievers came in to close it out.

The same would happen in Game 3 at AT&T Park, though the score would indicate the Giants had a chance to win. After the bottom of the sixth, when the Giants were unable to rally from a three-run deficit, the shut-down trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland – with a bridge reliever in Brandon Finnegan, a rookie out of TCU – ended any hopes of a Giants comeback. They had done the same to the Angels and Orioles in the postseason, considered the most potent batch of young relievers the game has seen in 2014.

Game 4 saw more of the same from the Royals – scoring on a clearly-overmatched starter in Tim Hudson four times in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. Things looked dire for San Francisco, as the Royals’ relievers loomed later in the game. But once again, they proved to be La Cucaracha their manager said they were. As Yusmeiro Petit stepped in for another stellar long relief appearance (3.0 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs allowed), the Giants would lean on “old veterans” in Buster Posey and Hunter Pence, as well as defensive replacement Juan Perez, to tie the game at 4. The sixth and seventh innings would see the Orange-and-Black complete an unlikely comeback, scoring 10 unanswered runs to take Game 4, 11-4.

Then came pivotal Game 5, where they would lean, once again, on their trusted postseason savior. MadBum, in response to his team’s faith in him, responded like a man possessed on the mound: he would pitch a complete game, 4-hit shutout on 117 pitches – 84 for strikes. He frustrated and perplexed Royals batters the entire night, and it was clear Kansas City had no answers for the 25-year-old leftie. Meanwhile, James Shields could not hold the Giants offense at bay, allowing two runs in 6 innings pitched. It also gave the Giants a glimpse of how to get to the Royals’ vaunted bullpen – they tagged Kelvin Herrera for two runs in one inning of relief, and got to Wade Davis for a run in his lone inning on the mound. It was all about Bumgarner, however – after putting his Giants in a position to win the World Series in Kansas City, he was carving out a legendary run in an already-stellar postseason career.

The Royals, back in Kauffman Stadium, would not go quietly, however. With Jake Peavy once again on the mound to try to win it all for the Giants, Kansas City’s bats awoke with a vengeance. It started – and essentially ended – for Peavy and the Giants in the second inning, as the Royals hammered him and reliever Yusmeiro Petit for seven runs. They would go on to score 10 in a blowout in every sense of the word. Meanwhile, 23-year-old rookie sensation Yordano Ventura, playing on the heels of close friend and St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras’ tragic death, would stifle the Giants offense all night, en route to his second victory in the World Series. He would pitch 7 innings of shutout ball on only three hits.

After a 3-2 series lead, the Giants would lose Game 6 in crushing fashion. It was playing out exactly like 2002.

Regardless, it was on to Game 7.

In the final game of the 2014 MLB season, it was a rematch of Game 4, with 35-year-old Jeremy Guthrie going up against 39-year-old Tim Hudson – the oldest pitching matchup in a World Series Game 7 in league history. However, by the end of the night, that would be an insignificant footnote to this series – especially considering neither pitcher was expected to last past the fourth inning.

And that’s exactly what happened – Hudson, after giving up 2 runs in 1.2 innings pitched, was immediately pulled for late-inning reliever, and former Royals starter, Jeremy Affeldt. After getting out of a jam with runners on first and second with two outs, Affeldt would go on to pitch two more innings of 1-hit ball.

Meanwhile, Guthrie would last a bit longer – 3.1 innings – but would give up 2 runs while on the mound. And with a tie game in the top of the 4th, he would allow Pablo Sandoval to reach third on a fly-out, subsequently being pulled for Herrera. It would prove to make all the difference for San Francisco: the very next batter – Michael Morse, who had big hits throughout his limited time in the postseason – would deliver what would prove to be the game-winning RBI, scoring Sandoval from third on a single to right field.

Clinging to that one-run lead, the Giants had to do all they could to keep it. And with a runner on first and no one out in the third, Joe Panik – the rookie that was called up only four months before – made what had to have been the defensive play of the series.

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After a diving catch saved a potential situation with runners on first and third with no outs, he flipped the ball out of his glove to Crawford, who then appeared to have gunned down Eric Hosmer at first. While initially ruled safe, the double play would be called after a successful replay challenge by Bochy.

Then, the Giants did what, two days ago, would have been unthinkable: They turned to the one pitcher they knew they could count on in any clutch postseason situation. In the ultimate in winner-take-all games …

The Giants gave the ball to Madison Bumgarner.

On only two days rest, with the season, and a championship, on the line, Bruce Bochy decided to ride his racehorse ace to the finish line, one last time.

And you could almost feel the air let out of the Kansas City fanbase as they watched Bumgarner, in one of the most surreal moments of his postseason career, stride to the mound out of the bullpen.

“Aww … Crap.”

He gave up a leadoff single to Infante in what may have been a bit of Game 7 jitters. But, from there, he calmed down, locked in, and proceeded to mow down the Royals lineup like he had done in each of his previous two appearances in the World Series. He went on to retire 14 straight batters, as the Royals were once again baffled by his mastery of pitches, despite a ridiculous pitch count for MadBum over the last 72 hours. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Bumgarner dealing like it was still the early months of the regular season, all hope seemed lost for the Royals.

Then Alex Gordon stepped to the plate.

He proceeded to bloop a flyball to center, just past the infield. While Bumgarner and his batterymate were ready to celebrate, CF Gregor Blanco misjudged the ball, skirting past him to the center field wall. Blanco and Juan Perez would proceed to boot the ball not once, but twice, as Gordon raced around the diamond. The ball was delivered to a waiting Brandon Crawford as Gordon was about to round third, but was stopped by third base coach Mike Jirschele. Replays would go on to show that Gordon would have most likely been gunned down by a wide margin had he tried to score, considering when Crawford had the ball for a potential throw to home plate. But it would be a “What if” that could haunt the Royals for the foreseeable future.

It was then when Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval and the Giants would slam the door on any ideas of a Kansas City comeback. A number of high fastballs by MadBum eventually induced a pop-up by Salvador Perez in foul territory – a pop-up caught by Sandoval to end the World Series.

A final out to give the Giants a much-deserved title: World Champions.

And the Kingdom rejoiced.

For the third time in five years, the San Francisco Giants would rush the mound after the final out. Buster Posey would rise from his crouch behind home plate in jubilant celebration. Manager Bruce Bochy – now a shoo-in for the Baseball Hall of Fame as the tenth manager to hold three World Series titles – raised in arms in victory and hugged his coaching staff. The city of San Francisco would celebrate another Commissioner’s Trophy. In this matchup of Destiny vs. Dynasty, it was the Dynasty that won out – with a dash of “even-numbered year” destiny sprinkled in.

These cockroaches, it turned out, could never be killed.

The celebrations are over. The rain-soaked parade rolled through Market Street. The speeches were made, and the collective backs of the Giants and their fans were patted to their hearts’ content. Now they face the prospect of re-signing key free agents, including beloved 3B Pablo Sandoval, who had made huge contributions to the past two World Series teams. Decisions will need to be made in the coming months, and the Giants will once again enter a season as defending World Series Champions.

But, for now – at least, for this moment – Giants fans everywhere can revel in what was another unbelievable, magical season.