Giants win the 2010 World Series!

Posted on November 2, 2010

San Francisco Giants chief operating officer Larry Baer, owner William Neukom and general manager Brian Sabean hold the World Series trophy during the presentation after the Giants’ 3-1 victory to win the World Series over the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 World Series at Rangers Ballpark on Monday, November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)

 

I kept telling everyone that Cliff Lee would pitch great tonight for the Rangers. Tim Lincecum would pitch good too, I told my friends. However, I thought the Giants would lose Game 5 of the World Series tonight in Texas, setting the stage for a Game 6 in San Francisco on Wednesday night. Boy was I wrong!

Obviously I wanted the Giants to win Game 5 tonight and clinch their first World Series title since 1954 when they were in New York. I just didn’t want to be disappointed, and I also thought it would be fun to have all my friends come back to San Francisco for another game at beautiful AT&T Park. There was also a part of me that did not want to see the 2010 baseball season come to a close. I hate the winter!

After a wonderful BBQ lunch at the Baby Back Shak in Dallas (GREAT ribs and beans, lousy brisket) with my teammates from MLB Photos we got to the park our usual four plus hours before the first pitch. I could not believe that the Giants were still playing baseball in November. It was still weird to see them in the World Series. Was this really happening?

I was positioned to photograph this game from a cool spot on the field level, past first base in short right field. I have enjoyed shooting this Series from so many different positions, and I thought this would be a fun place to work from.

It’s funny- I was way more nervous during the first two rounds of the playoffs than I was for the World Series as I photographed and watched on television the Giants magical October. I guess I was nervous early because I wanted so badly for them to get to the Series. Once they made it I was so happy I figured anything else would be gravy. This young team was a few years ahead of schedule I thought. This post season would give them good experience to make a long run in the future. Little did I know the future was NOW!

The game started out with both starting pitchers on their game. Time flew by. Lincecum wasn’t throwing many pitches, and he was flat-out embarrassing some of the Rangers hitters, many of whom were sent back to the dugout after flailing hopelessly at third strikes. Lee was right there with him, and as the innings quickly went by it became apparent that this game might be decided by a big home run, since no one would be able to sustain a rally.

The Giants finally got to Lee with a few singles in the 7th inning, and when Edgar Renteria strode to the plate with two outs and men on second and third you knew this was a pivotal point in the ballgame. I was thinking that the game was getting shorter, and the way Timmy was pitching all the Giants needed was a run or two. Moments later Renteria hit a three-run blast to center field and it suddenly became apparent that this thing could be over very soon. Surreal. Were the Giants really going to win the World Series? I did not see any way that Lincecum would cough this 3-0 lead up with nine outs to go.

The next few innings were a blur, and suddenly it was the bottom of the 9th and you could tell the Rangers were done. I decided that I wanted to focus on Giants rookie phenom catcher Buster Posey on the final out. After a strikeout ended the game and clinched the title for the orange and black I shot Posey as he ran towards the mound after catching he final pitch and got a few frames I liked. However, things got pretty bad picture-wise real fast. The piles of jubilant players blended in with each other and all the faces were gone. Just like that the moment was over and all I could do was hope I got something decent as I scrambled off the field and into the Giants clubhouse to shoot the trophy presentation.

I have shot many World Series trophy presentations in the past and it was really bizarre to be in a tiny room next to the Giants clubhouse shooting the Giants getting the trophy from commissioner Bud Selig. The only downfall of shooting such an historic occasion is that by the time I got into the clubhouse next door most of the champagne was gone, and so were most of the great pictures.

I hung around for awhile hoping that something cool would happen, and sure enough it did. The team decided to take the trophy out onto the field so they could celebrate with their families and friends on the field, and their fans in the stands. My goal was to get a decent trophy picture with a real good player holding it- which is easier said than done. I am the loser who always ends up getting the crappy middle inning relief pitcher or lame guy on the disabled list parading around with the hardware. This year needed to be different. I needed to get Posey holding the trophy- and I did! (See below).

Looking back on this day makes my head spin. It is now 4:19am as I am writing this sentence. I had to write this now when my thoughts are fresh in my mind. I can sleep all day tomorrow. It was very eerie when my boss took me into the Giants clubhouse several hours before the game to show me how to get in there, and where the trophy presentation would be. Man did I feel like I was jinxing everything! It was crazy. I felt uncomfortable in there as the players got ready. Media are not allowed in the clubhouse before a World Series game, so I tried not to look around too much. However- I was really impressed with the large magazine rack in there, full of titles like Maxim.

After I finished shooting Posey and other Giants on the field after the game I finally made it back to the photo work room down the corridor from the clubhouse to turn in my card with pictures and reflect on what had happened. I was exhausted, and I had to pee! My favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, had won the World Series!

I started rooting for this team in 1973 when I was 8-years-old. I hung with this team through good and bad, even when my mom suggested that it would be easier if I was an Oakland A’s fan when they were playing great for Billy Martin in the early 1980’s. That was not going to happen. I never gave up on this organization, and I even ponied up for season tickets with some friends in 2000 when they opened the new park. I still have my tickets and go to many games as a fan when I am not shooting. I wonder how much they are gonna raise my ticket prices next year? I asked Giants Managing Vice President of Ticket Services Russ Stanley in the hallway an hour after the game and he just laughed. Oh man- no more $39 tickets for me in 2011!

While I was in the clubhouse after the game I could hear my phone going off with many of my friends texting me about the Giants winning. When I finally had the chance to read them there was one that stuck out, from my baseball picture editor at Sports Illustrated, Nate Gordon. Nate was busy working on deadline closing the weekly magazine tonight and editing the pictures from his amazing crew of shooters assigned to cover the games here. Said Nate via text, “Congrats. Can you teach your team how to jube?”

Maybe next year they will do a better job of celebrating in an orderly fashion so our pictures are better- until then we have a parade in San Francisco on Wednesday! When does spring training start?