Small Play of the Night Award

I am awarding the Small play of the Night award to a Giant that demonstrated high effort and winning baseball that has been lacking the last few years.

Recipient number one is Patrick Bailey.

I love a team that hustles things out, grinds out at bats, and doesn’t waste a moment they're on the field. The Giants are starting to show me their new leadership is ushering in a new and improved culture. One that cares about winning baseball games more than crushing clubhouse beers and winning Pusoy Dos. 

In the top of the 8th, Patrick Bailey put a sweet swing from the left side to get his second hit of the night, a sharp single to right. He took advantage of Fernando Tatis Jr’s lazy fielding, stealing second base by stretching single into a double. 

I know Tatis was given an error, but a catcher making winning plays like that, especially high effort ones with the legs, already indicates to me that the Giants have a different philosophy after finally upgrading the roster. There didn’t seem to be a sense of urgency towards winning last year. I’m truly excited to see where this shuffled Giants roster and staff can do in the NL West this year. 

I also wanted to shout out Jung Hoo Lee and Matt Chapman for already looking like upgrades. Lee's game is definitely going to play in the major leagues. He can handle big league pitching. Matt Chapman looks like he’s got some spark still left in him, crushing two home runs in Bob Melvin's first win as manager of the Giants. For San Francisco to have success, they need these two to be ballers, and the early signs are showing they are. Hopefully that can last the entire season so the orange and black can fight for a playoff spot.

The Giants win and get themselves to .500 with their first win of the 2024 season. Kyle Harrison pitched like Giants fans have hoped, going 6.0 innings with 5 strikeouts and only two runs surrendered. Two solid outings from our starters thus far. Let’s see if Jordan Hicks can pitch “like Lincecum” as Mike Krukow put it in the Giants exhibition against the A’s in Oakland. I hope so. Hicks has the stuff, obviously his plus velocity on his fastball makes that his bread and butter, but don't knock his slider that should command respect as an elite out pitch. Let’s see if the Giants’ mad science experiment can turn into a stroke of genius. I definitely think it could.