Rockies sign Jason Giambi to one-year deal

Posted on January 23, 2010

Jason Giambi #16 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Seattle Mariners during the game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on May 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

The Colorado Rockies liked what they saw from Jason Giambi so much last September that they signed the aging slugger to a one-year contract today for $1.75 million according to FoxSports.com. Giambi came to the Rockies late last season as a free agent after the A’s released him in early August and produced well for the Rockies in a pinch-hitting role. Giambi had 7 hits in 24 at bats for the Rockies with 2 homers and 11RBIs.

It seems like every night when I watched baseball highlights on ESPN last September there was a clip of Giambi getting a HUGE pinch-hit for the Rockies in a game at Coors Field in Denver, leading the Rox to another win and driving another nail into the Giants coffin. Being a Giants fan this did not please me very much. The Giants made a valiant run to make the playoffs, but the Rockies were too tough and the acquisition of Giambi proved to be brilliant.

I have had the chance to photograph Giambi’s entire big league career, including his first full season with the A’s in 1996 when they opened the year playing home games in Cashman Field in Las Vegas while their home in Oakland was being redone to accommodate the Raiders. I watched Giambi learn from teammate Mark McGwire and grow in size and stature as he became the face of the swashbuckling A’s teams that made the playoffs three years in a row before he left as a free agent to play in New York (see below). Giambi’s stay in New York was it’s own soap opera involving steroids, thong underwear and mustaches. Oakland never seemed so far away.

It was fun when the A’s brought Giambi back to Oakland last year, but Billy Beane’s gamble backfired when Giambi got off to an awful start and injuries slowed him down so much that it was apparent that he could not be an every day player anymore. Luckily for Giambi, Beane released him on August 7 and the Rockies picked him up off the scrap heap on August 24, just in time for Giambi’s late-season heroics to make him an instant idol in Denver.

Jason Giambi signs with Rockies – Images by Brad Mangin

I hope Giambi has a nice swan song in Denver- as long as the Rockies finish behind the Giants in the National League West standings. Giambi is really a good guy and I hated seeing him end his career in Oakland so poorly. I will look for him in Arizona when I go down to shoot the Rockies in March. This will be the last year I have to make the drive to Tucscon! The Rockies are moving their spring training home up north near Scottsdale for 2011 (along with the Diamondbacks), making travel much easier for all of us who make our Cactus League homes in Scottsdale, near the Italian Grotto.