Tag Archives: willie mays

by | April 7, 2020 · 9:41 PM

Which SF Giants Player or Personality do you want to hang out with during a pandemic?

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Oracle Park / Photo: Eric Nathanson

As you know, sports are canceled. The San Francisco Giants should be playing week 2 of their season right now. Check that, week 3. The home opener was supposed to be last Friday. So, I guess we’re in week 3. Sigh.

Sports are the distraction from everyday life, and right now they are not filling that hole. Everyday life has stopped as we know it. Quarantine has become the new normal and most people are taking refuge in their homes.

We here at TortureCast are staying home and staying safe and urge all of you to do the same. It’s a good time to catch up on books, music, movies, and podcasts that we may have missed. Continue reading →

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by | May 29, 2019 · 12:27 PM

This Week In San Francisco Giants History: The Never Ending Doubleheader

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Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry – San Francisco Giants | Photo: MLB.com

The Giants left for San Francisco in 1958. Because of their move, along with the Dodgers jump to LA, New York was awarded an expansion franchise in 1962. Thus, the Mets were born. Fun fact about the Mets, their uniform colors being orange and blue is a nod to the Giants and Dodgers who left town. That’s what I’ve always known and apparently it’s true.

There were still Giants fans left in the city of New York. My father was one of them, and he’s the reason I want to write about a Sunday doubleheader at Shea Stadium in 1964. He was there, and this is one of the stories I grew up listening to that made me a Giants fan today. Who knows if the account I was given was totally true, but who cares? It’s Giants lore, and I ate it up. Let’s dig in to the day. Continue reading →

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by | May 17, 2019 · 2:52 PM

This Week In San Francisco Giants History: Willie’s Hit Parade

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San Francisco Giants Outfielder Willie Mays grabs a balloon during a parade on April 14, 1958 to welcome the team after their move from New York. – AP Photo

Welcome back to another This Week In San Francisco Giants History. After a week off to take care of the present day, we’re back with another peek at a fascinating moment in Giants history.

If you missed any of the previous installments in this series, you can click the links below to check them out.

TWIGH: Opening Day Timmy | Zito Loves Coors | California Baseball Begins | Robby Hits For The Cycle | The Comeback

Willie Mays is the greatest player in the history of baseball. You can’t convince me otherwise. I’m a Giants fan. Always have been, always will be. So, with all due respect to Babe Ruth, Mike Trout and Pablo Sandoval, Mays will always be at the top of the list. I’m subjective, and I don’t care. You try growing up with stories about that man and not feel the same. When my dad talked about Willie, he went to a place of wonderment and joy as he relived the moments he saw in his head from childhood. You could see it in his eyes. I’m biased, and I think I’ve established that. Continue reading →

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by | May 2, 2019 · 1:55 PM

This Week In San Francisco Giants History: The Comeback

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San Francisco Giants’ Bobby Bonds, right, and Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn pose with the All Star Game Most Valuable Player trophy after it was presented to Bonds at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on July 24, 1973. (AP Photo)

In the year 1973, the San Francisco Giants were facing a brave new world. It was the first season since 1954 in which Willie Mays was not on the roster. He had been traded to New York the prior season and was finishing his career out in a Mets uniform.

With Bobby Bonds in charge of a new outfield. the Giants had a good core of young players mixed with veterans like Willie McCovey to provide leadership and help the team contend. Twenty-three year old Garry Maddox patrolled center field, with 22-year old Rookie of the Year Gary Matthews spending most of his time in left field. A young Chris Speier, himself only 23 years old, was the captain of the infield at shortstop in only his 3rd season. McCovey was the only regular to get playing time who was over the age of 30 as the Giants gambled on young talent to carry them through the 1973 season.

The kids got off to a good start. The Giants entered May at 18-6, the best record in baseball. Continue reading →

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by | April 17, 2019 · 2:23 PM

This Week In San Francisco Giants History: California Love

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Willie Mays and Duke Snider before the first MLB game in California between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers

The San Francisco Giants were born during an owner’s vote on May 28, 1957. Well, they weren’t born, that distinction goes to expansion teams, more like they were allowed to exist on that May day in 1957. That day, NL owners approved the move of both the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers out west to California.

That was the deal, though. Both teams had to move there, or neither did. Baseball wanted to keep travel problems to a minimum and having 2 teams out west made it easier for NL teams to schedule road trips. Airplane travel was just becoming normal, and before the 1958 season, there was no NL team west of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yes, the Giants had won the World Series as recently as 1954, but attendance was lagging. In 1954, the Giants drew 1.155 million fans to the Polo Grounds. By 1956, that number had already dropped to 629,179. It was thought that fans were moving out to the suburbs and less likely to drive to the city for a ballgame. So the Giants looked to move out of the only city they ever called home. Continue reading →

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by | August 13, 2018 · 2:38 PM

Episode #150: #25 is Retired

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Barry Bonds finally had his number retired on Saturday. Photo: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

You can download the episode here, or stream it below!

Eric and Chad talk about Barry Bonds’ #25 being retired (Willie Mays’ and Barry Bonds’ speeches are at the end of the podcast) and all of our memories watching him as fans before we started this podcast. We also review the split of a four game series with the Pirates and focus on the emerging star of Dereck Rodriguez, whose name, if you Google it, still comes up with his dad’s picture first (Pudge)!

The Giants need to play with some sense of urgency right now. Sitting 6 games back of Arizona with 43 to play, they need to do well on this 10 game road trip, starting with 3 in LA. Tonight, it’ll be a classic matchup: MadBum vs. Kershaw.

It’s a tough road, but stranger things have happened.

Enjoy episode #150!

@torturecast

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by | April 20, 2015 · 10:54 PM

Episode 84: “4-10 Good Buddy”

We get up close and personal with Bochy’s ring, hall of famers, and we even get to third base!

Download the podcast here, or stream it below!

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-04-20T22_43_09-07_00.mp3]

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the Tigers’ record (11-2) right now? Although the Giants have gotten off to one of the worst starts ever for a World Series champion, it’s not quite yet time to panic.

Chad and Eric discuss the highlight of the week, which, yes, was the only win in the last 10 games, but it was also the World Series Ring ceremony. Chad was in attendance, and he strolls down memory lane and recounts his experience in the clubhouse, seeing all five living Hall of Famers, and actually handled the ring of Bochy himself. All pictures of the night are on our Facebook page.

We cover McGehee, Peavy on the DL, “Tweet at me, Bruh,” our new favorite and least favorite guys, and of course, “Why We Will Win it All.”

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by | May 14, 2013 · 11:37 PM

Episode 48: The Pablo Sandoval Episode

Panda Pinkomonium

Click the player above to listen to the Episode!

Download the episode

Listen on iTunes

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Hey, the Giants are in first, the Dodgers in last. What else is there to be happy about?!

Talking Points

  • Giants have second best record in NL, in first place, Dodgers in last, took 3/4 from 1st place Braves
  • Giants rotation getting better, but still 12th in NL for starters (4.25 ERA)
  • Zito (3-1, 2.75 ERA) and Bumgarner (4-1, 2.18 ERA) have remained mostly issue-free, but Lincecum (3-2, 4.07 ERA) hasn’t achieved true consistency and Vogelsong (1-3, 7.78 ERA) has one quality start in seven appearances.
  • Cain won his first two May starts, yielding three runs over 15 1/3 innings. That’s a 1.76 ERA.

The Week in Review

  • Lost 2/3 vs Philly, won 3/4 from ATL
  • Giants now have the BEST BA in the NL at .266, 3rd in runs, 3rd in RBI

The Big Question

  • Can Lincecum perform like this again? 7 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits. Vintage.
  • Giants ASG dark horse, go!

Armchair Manager

  • Should Gaudin move up in depth? 21 IP, 1.27 ERA, 21K, 15H, .195 BAA

Tweet At Me, Bruh

  • Willie: kyleconaway: Hey @Williedills, I love you and all, but your #Giants can go straight to hell. #GoBraves #TomahawkChop4Life
  • Chad: “Thomas Todd ‏@HammerheadT @chadk21 @williedills @friedduck @TortureCast Damn, why didn’t we think of that?” That’s right, we’re on YOUTUBE!

Our New Favorite Guy

  • Panda and his pink fingernails and homeruns
  • Scutaro finding his groove again

We Should Hate This Guy

Why We Will Win It All

  • Chad: Giants will make a deadline deal to solidify their rotation if Vogey doesn’t come around
  • We have bullets in the chamber besides who we have right now. If we need a move to solidify, wherever that may be, it will happen

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

We also have a new TortureCast Mug for sale on Zazzle!

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by | May 2, 2013 · 9:55 AM

Episode 46: The Kirk Rueter Episode

Woody being Woody

Click the player above to listen to the Episode!

Download the episode

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher!

We welcome Eric Nathanson to the show. The man behind 2outhits.com and a Giants fan out of…ahem, Chicago?! We start out the show trying to understand how such a die-hard Giants fan developed this way WITHOUT EVER HAVING BEEN TO SAN FRANCISCO! Willie also tests both Eric and Chad’s knowledge with a little Giants trivia.

Talking Points

  • What the hell is going on?! The sky is falling!! 5 losses in a row!

The Week in Review

  • Lost 2/3 to AZ, swept by SD. 4 out of those 5 could’ve easily been wins, have only been outscored by 7 runs over the 5 game losing streak (3 went extra innings)

The Big Question

  • Vogelsong and Cain? Can they right the ship quickly?
  • You can review Chad’s article about Vogelsong’s struggles.

Armchair Manager

  • Is it time to send Hector down? Could we use some bullpen depth?
  • Should Marco be moved down in the lineup?

Tweet At Me, Bruh

  • Chad: Jason Collins ‏@jasoncollins344hAll the support I have received today is truly inspirational. I knew that I was choosing the road less traveled but I’m not walking it alone
  • Willie: MLB: “Everybody knows somebody who’s gay. If you can’t deal with it in 2013, you need to go somewhere and hide in a cave.” – @LaTroyHawkins32
  • Eric: @pourmecoffee: Gay people play sports. You can deal with this America. I believe in you.

Our New Favorite Guy

  • Willie: Timmy: getting back into his stride perhaps? Lotsa Ks, less wild and finally accepting of Posey perhaps?
  • Chad: Bumgarner: 1.87 ERA, 3-0 sub 1 WHIP, country bumpkin can PITCH!
  • Ben: Brandon Crawford: Seriously, Matt Kemp WISHES he was as gifted a hitter as Brandon Crawford.
  • Eric: Hunter Pence: That guy plays every play like it’s his last. And how can you not love the stilted motions?
  • Honorary Mention: Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers: Look, we’re all San Franciscans here (well, some honorary). This should be pretty obvious.

We Should Hate This Guy

  • Chad: I’m abstaining for positive energy and kharma for the team
  • Willie: Chris Broussard – slamming Jason Collins on the air as not a christian because he’s gay. Nice job being a bigot, homey. Good luck with that.
  • Ben: Almost anybody who writes in the comments section.
  • Eric: I have the same hate for Broussard, but love for Giants

Why We Will Win It All

  • Chad: If we stop playing like shit
  • Willie: We are getting the slump out of the way early. After 5 straight losses we’re only 2 GB and still above the Dodgers. Suck on that.
  • Ben: Depth depth depth.  Also, Nick Noonan.
  • Eric: Bruce Bochy is the best in the biz in a short series.

We want to thank Eric Nathanson for joining us on this extra-long, but thought-provoking episode of Torturecast! Don’t forget to follow him @2outhits on Twitter!

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

We also have a new TortureCast Mug for sale on Zazzle!

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