"Everyone Bought In"

It appears that nobody in baseball really understands them.

Tonight in Detroit, the San Francisco Giants won their second World Series in three years and they did so in improbable fashion.  After losing their dominant closer Brian Wilson to injury this Spring and following the betrayal by their offensive machine in a steroid scandal, they endured.  

When the Dodgers picked up a quarter of a billion dollars in talent at the July trade deadline, the Giants quietly pushed on, eventually leaving the National League West division behind with an eight game advantage.

They stumbled into the division series playoffs losing the first two games to the Cincinnati Reds at their home park in San Francisco.  But as the Giants had done all year long, they gave life and substance to the most popular sports cliches.  They were a team.  They never quit.  They played to the last out.  They believed.

The Giants won the next three games on the road in Cincinnati, propelled by dominant pitching and electrifying at bats, like that from its quiet superstar Buster Posey.  When the likely NL MVP lifted a grand slam into the upper deck of left center field in the deciding game five, it seemed as if anything was possible.

The Giants then moved on to face the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, falling to an early 3-1 Series deficit and once again facing elimination.

Finding themselves in an improbable game seven, the Giants won their fifth straight elimination game and decisively knocked off the Cardinals beneath the most unlikely of October San Francisco rain.

The momentum continued straight to Detroit, where tonight the Giants completed a fourth straight win over the nationally favored Tigers to earn their second World Series ring in three years.

In many ways, they were the team that nobody else in the country understood, except for the sold out crowds who followed them each and every night.  In the same way that Michael Lewis' Moneyball lifted the curtain on the power of statistics in assembling a baseball team, this year's Giants demonstrated the unbelievable power of selflessness and team in winning a world championship.

Even in the post-game interviews however, the national media seemed bewildered by the Giants.  It was hard to call this a fluke after it was done in such dominant fashion.  But still the questions came.  "What is it about this Giants team?" they asked.  Few understood.

Hunter Pence perhaps explained it best.  "Everyone bought in to it.  We bought in to playing for each other, which you don't see 25 guys (do)."  In an era of big contracts, free agency and in a culture of individual accolades, it is a concept that has somehow become unique in professional sports - and perhaps unique in our own lives.

Each and every night, a new player contributed.  Giants' Manager Bruce Bochy became famous for yanking pitchers only to call in the next arm he knew could get the out.  Players stood aside for others who could do the job.  Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum pitched out of the bullpen because that was what he was asked to do.  And he rose to the occasion, pitching a commanding 13 innings in five relief appearances in the post season, allowing just three hits and one earned run, while striking out 17.

When General Manager Brian Sabean tried to explain their success after the game seven NL Pennant win in San Francisco, he said they were "better men than they are ball players."  They picked each other up.  They all bought in.

While the Giants speculate about a target on their backs in the coming years after such recent success, one wonders if the competition will fully understand.  The Giants have a motto:  "25 Guys. One Common Goal. Win Today."  They would be wise not to let Michael Lewis write about it.  The longer it remains misunderstood, the more ring fingers they'll need.

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Today was another improbable day for different reasons.  As I've written before, my youngest brother's struggle with leukemia seemed to run together with the Giants' first World Series run.  Today was his 27th birthday and he received the gift of a World Series sweep from the team that lifted all of our hopes during that difficult Fall in 2010.  After being given every reason to doubt his future two years ago, today he thrives with the best health he's had in the eight years since his first cancer diagnosis.

For the first time in many years, his birthday was celebrated with a certain regularity - brunch, family, laughs and presents.  For the first time in many years, his life seems defined not by illness, but by the opportunities that lie ahead.  It's hard to watch another Giants World Series win and not see the commonalities between his path and theirs.  Never quit.  Play to the last out.  Believe.

Perhaps more than the Giants themselves, Johnny epitomizes their secret World Series winning formula that transcends sports:  One Common Goal.  Win Today.

Happy Birthday Johnny.