Giants: World Series Champs
Brennan Cole, Jonah Son
The 2012 San Francisco Giants have made their city and all of their loyal fans proud once again this year, as they recently finished off a remarkable comeback against the Reds to clinch a spot in the
National League Championship Series. Similarities between the 2012 and 2010 Giants have been seen consistently throughout the season, but how related are these two teams?
Across the field, demonstrated through outstanding defense, superior pitching, and added speed to the consistent offense, the 2012 Giants have shown their advantages compared to their 2010 world champion team.
Sweeping the base paths with great speed include Gregor Blanco with 26 steals and Angel Pagan with
29. Compared to the 2010 squad who had a total of 55 steals, the 2012 team has hustled their way to
118 steals this season.
Defensively, the 2012 squad covers more ground and is overall more reliable. Two veterans, Pablo
Sandoval and Marco Scutaro, anchor the infield while defensive, young guns Brandon Crawford and
Brandon Belt have exhibited their ability on the field with numerous web gems. Across the outfield, Angel
Pagan and Hunter Pence have proven themselves better than the 2010 standouts Andres Torres and
Nate Schierholtz through their consistency at the plate.
Baseball fans everywhere thought the Giants would take a plunge after Melky Cabrera was suspended due to performance enhancing drugs, but the team did the exact opposite. Joaquin Arias stepped up to the plate and got ten hits in his next twenty-two atbats following Cabrera’s suspension, including a game winner in Los Angeles. Gregor Blanco similarly stepped up his game as he hit safely nine times out of the twentysix at bats after the Giant’s took their offensive deficits.
No one thought it could be done, but Buster Posey is having a better year than his 2010 Rookie of the
Year performance. After bouncing back from a devastating injury in 2011, Posey is batting .336 compared to his .305 average in 2010. He has already won the WIllie Mac Award and is a top candidate for the National League Most Valuable Player.
The 2012 San Francisco Giants entered the postseason with an outstanding 94-68 record, with high hopes to be the last team standing for the second time in three years. After dropping the first two games of the divisional series against the Reds at home, they bounced back to win the next three and take the series as well. This was the first time in National League history in which a team completed a comeback after finding themselves in a hole, down two games to none.
Sunday the Giants played their first game of the NLCS, with results not available at presstime.