Another last day
Last days are strange. They're for signing yearbooks, throwing caps, and packing boxes. They're for goodbye, good luck, and good riddance. Last days signal change.
That's how it felt on a brilliant Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. Change is coming, and the crowd of 32,348 felt it.
Mike Yastrzemski doffed his cap as he stepped off the field and into an uncertain offseason. Hayden Birdsong soaked in an ovation worthy of his 11 strikeouts to end his rookie season. Matt Chapman waved to the cheering crowd, then declared in an on-field speech that the Giants would be in the postseason next year.
Who's going to be in charge of making that happen? Uh, well. You see… hm.
What we do know is that the season ended in such a fitting way. The Giants spent so much of the last six months chasing .500—right down to the last day. When they had the chance to put a perfect stamp on this perfectly average season, they missed it.
The Giants finished 80-82. They missed the playoffs by nine games. Their journey ended Sunday afternoon.
Thankfully, last days eventually give way to first days.
A note of gratitude: Thank you for reading throughout the season. I appreciate all of you. Family, friends, strangers, whoever you are: Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the conversation, if not the baseball. If you have any thoughts, feelings, predictions, ideas—anything at all—I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email or leave a comment.
You’ll hear from me sporadically throughout the offseason. Enjoy the things you enjoy.
Posey!