San Francisco Giants Mailbag: Pressure, Posey, Power

Oct 29, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (right) celebrates with catcher Buster Posey after defeating the Kansas City Royals during game seven of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants’ ability to stay loose and stay focused when under pressure is certainly one of the main reasons why they’ve been able to win three World Series titles in five seasons. Since this is an intangible quality, it’s somewhat difficult to track exactly how every player on the 25-man roster is able to have this quality. However, a lot of the Giants’ ability to stay calm in high-intensity situations is due to their coaching and team chemistry.

Bruce Bochy could be considered a “players’ coach” due to the fact that he is well-liked and well-respected by the players, he will always stand by his players no matter what happens, and he’s even like a father figure to some of these players.

In addition to this, he’s also a master motivator. Since he knows his players so well, he knows exactly what to say or what not to say in certain situations. He also knows when he should step aside and let the players speak to the rest of the team instead. Bochy knows how his players work, and he knows how to get his team to play hard every day, play the game the right way, and not put too much pressure on themselves.

Because of all of these qualities, Bochy influences the players on how to handle these high-pressured situations and sets an example for them. He motivates his players to go about each day and each game with the same approach. A player shouldn’t change their approach given the stakes of the game or the moment.

Bumgarner is the perfect example. At the beginning of Spring Training, Alex Pavlovic of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area shared this story about Bumgarner that perfectly displayed this mentality:

"Bumgarner surpassed the previous postseason innings record (Curt Schilling’s 48 1/3) with a brilliant five-inning save in Game 7 of the World Series, and on Thursday, under sunny skies, he took a mound in full uniform for the first time since that historic night. Pretty much the same adrenaline rush, right? “Yeah, actually, in fact it is,” Bumgarner said, responding seriously to a question asked in jest. “Every time, I try to keep it the same.” That thought, more than anything, explains how Bumgarner was able to do what he did last October. The moment was never too big for him, and when he slowly jogged to the mound at Kauffman Stadium, the season on the line, Bumgarner did in fact look like a pitcher who was calmly getting ready for a session in Scottsdale. Bumgarner takes that same approach every time he steps on a mound…"

Another reason why the Giants are able to play with this mentality every game is because of their team chemistry. They all play for each other, they all enjoy being around each other (on and off the field), and they play with passion every game. They all play hard every day, while still finding a way to not put too much pressure on themselves.

This is a quality that champions (three-time World Series champions) possess.

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