Thank you SF Giants for a fun, wild, surprising 2020 season

The clock has struck midnight on the SF Giants and it’s time we send them a thank you letter for the year.

Considering we didn’t even know if the 2020 season was going to be on, the expectations for this team were pretty low.

Some figured you’d win less than 10 games, even some who thought you’d win no games. You also had your glass-half-full folks who thought “well if there’s a season, this team could surprise, but we’ll prepare for the worst.”

But what you did was more than anyone could’ve asked for. Literally. You did way more than expected. So let’s take a look at what you accomplished during the weirdest season in MLB history.

July – SF Giants record: 4-4

The first “month” of the 2020 season was a rollercoaster, to say the least. It was the beginning of a year of firsts.

Former manager Bruce Bochy wasn’t in the dugout for the first time in 13 years, the most dominant pitcher/catcher duo in Madison Bumgarner (signed with Arizona as a free agent) and Buster Posey (opted out) weren’t in Giants uniforms, and there were no fans or seagulls in attendance.

Manager Gabe Kapler began a new tenure with the team and proved he’s going to be more than just a guy in the dugout.

But you kicked off the new year with an opening series split to the eventual NL West division winners, Los Angeles Dodgers. It felt like it was our World Series.

Pop star Taylor Swift also dropped a new album during the pandemic, which led many to believe the actual Commissioner’s trophy was headed back to San Francisco.

August – SF Giants record: 13-19

Then all of a sudden, the first full month of the year came up. 12 games in 12 days. 10 of them on the road. It was already a daunting task, but you weren’t expected to win much… and you didn’t. (Giants only won four games of the 12.)

Heartbreakingly, you got swept in the “Bay Bridge Series” by the Oakland Athletics. Two of those losses were by one run each. After beating the A’s in the abbreviated spring training, the sweep hurt.

As the month continued, you rattled off seven straight wins including a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, all the recent success seemed minimal to what was happening around the world. Protests surrounding racial injustice were taking place around the world.

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— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 27, 2020

You and the Dodgers jointly agreed to postpone the game to allow the conversion to continue about what was happening.

Whatever side people lean on about the news, the Giants and Dodgers did what they felt was most appropriate and joined the NBA, NHL, and MLS in the pause and conversation.

September – SF Giants record: 29-31

The way the new MLB Postseason structure was this season it gave you, the SF Giants, a shot at playing October baseball (Is the Taylor Swift superstition legit?!).

But the month of September gave us hope and sleepless nights. You fought until the very last weekend to stay in the NL Wild Card race and eventually caved.

Hey, even Bumgarner came back to Oracle Park for the first time as a visitor. This was unfortunate because there were no fans in attendance to give the greatest pitcher in World Series history the “welcome home” he deserved.

This month was also filled with smoke from the California wildfires which have caused so much damage. The smoke reached from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Barrie, Ontario, Canada. To put it in perspective, California is 3,957 kilometers from Ontario.

There was even a positive COVID-19 test which postponed a few games.

But even with the postponements, moving series to different ballparks, and whatever else you faced during September, you still kept fighting to be in the postseason.

Final thoughts on the SF Giants’ season

Despite not making the playoffs this season is far from a failure. Yes, you parted ways with some “Forever Giants” in third baseman Pablo Sandoval and outfielder Hunter Pence, but it was a business decision. But you also made us proud to be wearing the orange and black every day of the summer.

We leave the 2020 season with our hearts in San Francisco, orange and black running through our bloodstreams, and with true hope and optimism for the future.

Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, catcher Joey Bart, and shortstop Mauricio Dubon all proved they’ll be valuable pieces to the next decade of SF Giants baseball.

We send our thanks to pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija for their time in the Bay Area. (Cueto isn’t set to leave, but the end is certainly closer than it was before.)

And of course, we can’t thank now-retired Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval enough for their service this year and all the other years they were in Giants uniforms.

Next. SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs. dark

So to the Giants of San Francisco, thank you for a remarkable season. Thank you for providing us some fun during a time of uncertainty.

We’ll miss watching you play every night and we might even miss the torture. However, February 27th, 2021 is quickly approaching and we’re more than ready to watch Giants baseball once again.

Thank you, SF Giants.

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