On The Last Day Of The Season, The Giants Clinch The NL West

I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about how I felt like the 2021 San Francisco Giants were a miracle. They clinched a playoff spot with about three weeks left in the season. But when I wrote that, I’ll be honest, I figured that the Los Angeles Dodgers would eventually catch them. I did not foresee the Giants finding a way to hold off what would end up being a 105+ win defending champion Dodgers team. Well, they did. If you would’ve told me before the season that the San Francisco Giants were going to win the division, I would’ve laughed in your face, but I also would’ve said that if it were going to happen, it would’ve happened with a 90, maybe even 95 win team. But this team won the division, but they had to fend off the defending champions to do it, and they set a franchise record in wins to hold them off. Over the last 20 years, only the Seattle Mariners of 2001 and the Boston Red Sox of 2018 have won more games in the regular season. 

This is why you play the game, man. Gabe Kapler, who many people believed was an afterthought after he was run out of town in Philadelphia, is a lock for NL manager of the year. While the Giants haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, this group has remarkable experience. Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Johnny Cueto, and Alex Wood are all guys that have played in the World Series before. It’s a remarkable story, and it seems like it’s only going to get better.