San Francisco Giants: 3 things fans should be excited about

Baseball season is fast approaching, and I have the three things that every San Francisco Giants fan should be excited about heading into this season.

Baseball season is fast approaching. The San Francisco Giants have started spring training and games are soon to start.

There has been a few headlines in Giants camp already, the most stunning being that Bruce Bochy will be retiring after this season. Others come from rumors like the Giants are one of two teams remaining in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes.

Whether you are excited about baseball season or are nervous to see how the Giants do in 2019, I have three things every San Francisco fan should be excited about.

1. Celebrating Bruce Bochy

After three World Series wins and four pennant championships, Bruce Bochy will hang up his cleats following 24 seasons of coaching. He has coached for the San Diego Padres for 12 seasons and the Giants for another 12. It has been a great career with both teams as he has a record of 951-975 during the 12 years with the Padres. During his 12 years with the Giants so far, he has a record of 975-969. With still one season left in the league with the Giants, he will reach the 1000 win mark as he is only 25 away.

It is a well-deserved retirement as he has brought three world series to the great city of San Francisco in the years 2010, 2012, and 2014. The last couple of season for the Giants have not been great, but he should be remembered for the many outstanding things that he was able to do for the Giants organization. For Bochy, he was able to coach four All-Star teams (1999, 2011, 2013, 2015). He also won Manager of the Year in 1996 with the Padres.

It will be an exciting final year for this soon-to-be Hall of Fame manager. Expect the Giants to put together a series of events for Bochy as he has at least 162 games to go.

2. Will Madison Bumgarner finish the season with the Giants?

Everybody already knows that manager Bruce Bochy will not be here at the start of the 2020 season, but most fans are worrying if ace Madison Bumgarner will still be a Giant at that time.

At the end of this season, the Giants ace will be able to test the free agency market. In April of 2012, he signed a six-year, $35.56 million contract that had him in the Bay Area through the 2017 season. The Giants picked up his $12 million club option to keep Bumgarner here for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Last year around the trade deadline, the Giants were reportedly in trade talks with several teams in a package that would include Bumgarner. One team that had the best chance was the Milwaukee Brewers. Considering he’s now in a contract year, I would not be surprised if those trade talks ramped back up.

San Francisco fans of course would love to see MadBum stay in San Francisco. However, with the way the organization is going, it may not be the worst idea to trade him and prepare for the future. So for the time being, it will be best to enjoy every time Bumgarner steps onto the mound because his days in the Bay Area may be limited.

3. Buster Posey has the potential to get his power back

One of the greatest catchers to ever play the game is slowly coming back to what he was when the Giants were going to the World Series every other year. Buster Posey missed the last month and a half of the 2018 season as he underwent right hip surgery. Posey played in only 105 games and had 398 at bats. In that time, he had 113 hits with 47 runs and five home runs. He ended the season with a batting average of .284 as well as 41 RBIs.

The 31-year-old catcher is coming into his 11th season of an MLB career that has seen him suffer a couple of major injuries. In 2011, Buster suffered that gruesome ankle injury while covering the plate against the Miami Marlins.

In his 10-year career so far, he has not played a full 162-game season. He came the closest in 2015 when he played in 150 games. Coming off this surgery, Buster has the potential to go back to hitting home runs and powering this Giants offense.

Posey is one of the big keys to this upcoming season. If he and the rest of the core are able to contribute nightly, they will not be as bad as people think. In my opinion, this Giants team has the potential to compete with the best teams and slip into the playoff picture. The only way they do that is if they stay healthy and the veteran core produces like the way they have in the past.