The San Francisco Giants have done what some thought was impossible: sweep the Detroit Tigers in four games, winning the final one in dramatic 10 inning fashion, 4-3. This makes twice in three years the SF Giants have been baseball’s World Champions, and totally breaks a study that this blogger talked to SF Giants President Larry Bear about after the organization’s 2002 World Series appearance, when they lost to the Houston Astros.
Then, the study explained that it took 4.7 years for a championship baseball team to replenish its personnel and be ready to challenge again; this SF Giants have done it in just two years. That’s the mark of not just any championship team, but of a dynastic organization.
The SF Giants team of today has many of the same stars of the 2010 squad, like Buster Posey. But it’s added new stars like Marco Scutero, who came over from the Boston Red Sox mid-season. Maybe, then, it’s not an issue of total change but small alterations that bring a champion, yet again. At least that seems to be the case with the San Francisco Giants of 2012.
But how could the Detroit Tigers just fall so flat? One reason may be the long layoff they had after beating the New York Yankees in a four-game-sweep of their own. By contrast, the SF Giants had just one day of effective rest before the World Series got underway, and they just finished an epic, 7-game NLCS series against the St. Louis Cardinals that saw them come back from down 3 games to 1 again, after having done it in the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds. It’s fair to say the San Francisco Giants were already revved up, where the Tigers had to
Whatever the case, it’s clear that these San Francisco Giants are special, and the City knows it. After Sergio Romo got the final out to close the game, the bar The Republic on Lombard and Scott in San Francisco erupted in celebration, as you can see:
And as fans were partying in bars like The Republic and The Balboa Cafe, others were outside, jumping into mosh pits:
And there’s more to come. Stay tuned.