Don’t EVER stop believin’

“Orange” October was the new nickname for that magical month in 2010 as the San Francisco Giants were on their way. No one anticipated that the Giants would make it through to November baseball. Why? In my opinion, because the media (ESPN and MLB) said so. The Giants only had their beloved and faithful fans, I being their number #1 fan (jk) believing in them. Being a Giants fan, I know what TORTURE is and how it feels to lose after having the lead for most of the game. Therefore, my mindset for the entire month of October and the beginning of November was to take one game at a time.

The “castoffs and the misfits”, as Manager Bruce Bochy called the team, were not favored to win, let alone compete for the National League West. How were they going to take over first place of the most competitive division in Major League Baseball when the San Diego Padres, who occupied first place for most of the year and had up until the last series of the year beat the Giants 12 times out of 18 games? Well, on the third day of “Orange” October and after two close defeats to start the final series with the Padres, Jonathan Sanchez pitching in the most important game of his life delivered and WE beat the Padres 3-0. San Francisco Giants: National League West Champions. Sounds good right? This would mark the beginning of the most tortuous and exciting month of my life only comparable to graduating from college. I would like to add; to the Padres fan that sat in front of me at the September 11 game, “Who’s your daddy now?” Punk.

First up is the Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves with a record of  91-71 captured the wild card spot. After a back and forth first few games, Cody Ross helped secure a series win with a homerun thus ending Bobby Cox’s 29^th and final managerial year. Now on to the Championship Series with the Philadelphia Phillies! Before we send the Braves back to Georgia, let us recap the amazingness that Timmay (as I like to call him) provided us in Game 1 of the series.

Yes, that video also gave me the chills and made my heart beat 92 mph like Timmay’s heater. Oh yes, espn had the Braves as their favorite to win the series.

At this point, I was still taking it one game at a time. The Phillies were thought to be a tough team to beat, with their “HALLADAY” phenomenon fresh off his no hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. In my opinion, having a 14 strikeout complete game shutout is way more impressive. Don’t you think or am I being bias? I will say this, Timmay is one my favorite baseball players. But can you blame me? Do not mention his performance during that unusual month of August and we can continue to be friends. Well this Philadelphia series in my mind would be tough for the Giants. All the games were close with the exception of the second game, which the Giants lost 6-1. Yes. I know. Freakin’ torture! Jonathan Sanchez could not finish the game and was unable to go deep into a game for the rest of the postseason. Breathe. The series was now tied. The third game was perfection. Here is a fun fact that I got from my Sports Illustrated 2010 Commemorative Issue: “Matt Cain, Javier Lopez, and Brian Wilson combine to hand Philadelphia its first postseason shutout in 49 games, since the 1983 World Series.” Perfection, Giants were up again 2-1. Leave it to Uuuuribe (now with the rivals down south, but don’t blame the kid) to hit a sacrifice fly ball and bring Huff Daddy home to win Game 4. Errors set the Giants back and the Phillies “phenomenon” won game 5. Well, Game 6 belonged to the Giants as Uribe comes through again hitting a homer to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning. Brian Wilson strikes out Ryan Howard looking and sends the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS TO THE WORLD SERIES!! By the way Cody Ross (a late season pick up) won the MVP award by contributing 7 hits, 5 RBI’s, 4 runs, 3 homeruns, and a .350 average.

Let’s start with this YouTube video, which as you may know, was a very common performance among the Giants players for Game 1.

The Godsend Cliff Lee, as the media made him out to be WAS a factor in game 1. But not in a good way. The game became a slugfest as described by Sports Illustrated and down right embarrassing. But the game did get too close for comfort as the Giants prevailed 11-7. Game 2: Giants 9-0. A SHUT OUT and the poor Rangers were starting to look like a piece of cake. Edgar Renteria finally shows off his greatness with 2 hits including a homer and 3 RBI’s. No luck for the Ranger’s offense as our dominant pitching put them in their place. Game 3 went to the Rangers (no sweep) with strong efforts from two of their best players, Josh Hamilton and Mitch Moreland. The Giants’ rookies made it happen in Game 4, with Posey and Bumgarner leading the way. I was able to breathe; my Giants were up 3-1. Could this be true? Were the Giants really on their way to winning the World Series? FUCK YEAHHHH! As Timmay says. Game 5, Lee vs. my man, and all I can remember is Wilson delivering the final strike. But here is a pretty awesome video that will help you relive the best day EVER for a Giants Fan:

I just cried.

But, my fellow Giants Fans, I will you leave with this:

Don’t EVER stop believin’

<3,
brenda