Nothing more than a feeling

Giants 4, Rockies 0

The Giants finished 81-81, the scarlet record of an average team. The team before this one finished 80-82. And the one before that finished 79-83. And the one before that finished 81-81.

If you didn’t know these numbers by heart, at the very least you felt them. We’re in the thick of a mediocre era of Giants baseball. They win as much as they lose. They string you along. They drive you mad and over the moon all at once.

And yet, even if this Giants team didn’t play much different from the last one or the one before that, it felt different. The energy around the team and the perception of it are undeniably different.

You see it in the attendance figures (highest since 2018). You see it on the field, with Buster Posey’s first Big Move, Willy Adames, breaking the 30-homer drought. You see it in the way people talk about the team.

I’m really disinclined to lean into vibes for a team that can’t break free from .500. But I can’t discount them either. I think we’re all feeling more when it comes to the Giants. More energy. More excitement. More disappointment. And that sure beats the alternative—even if all roads lead to 81-81.

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Thank you: I’m so grateful to have a place to write about the team I’ve spent too many hours watching and thinking about. Thank you to all of you for reading and following and reaching out. You’ll hear from me a lot less than you have, but I’ll check in with news and thoughts as they come. And for those of you that listen, the podcast with Kerry will continue. Much to discuss, as always. Thanks for reading, I appreciate you.