A rare photo of former San Francisco Giant Rob Wilfong in a Giants uniform circa 1987 he only played two games for the Giants at the end of his career (photo provided by Tony the Tiger Hayes)
Rob Wilfong – 2B – 1987 – # 9
He Was A Giant?
By Tony the Tiger Hayes
Imagine its your debut game with a new team and phenomenally you clobber a shocking home run in your first at-bat.
But after circling the bases and accepting high fives and slaps on the butt from your gobsmacked new teammates, you bypass the dugout bench and clubhouse shower and keep on jogging to your car. You drive straight home – never to return.
Wilfong’s brief stay with San Francisco didn’t exactly play out like that – but it wasn’t far off.
A former slick-fielding 2B for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels, Wilfong appeared in just two games for the 1987 Giants and then mysteriously vanished without a trace.
Why Was He a Giant?
Wilfong, 33, failed to make California’s 1987 opening day roster despite a gritty – nearly series saving – performance vs. Boston in the previous fall’s American League Playoffs.
But Wilfong found himself in a numbers pickle the following spring when league-wide team rosters were reduced to 24 players from 25. Wilfong didn’t do himself any favors by batting a measly .095 (3-for-21) in spring exhibitions for the the Angels.
So despite being just a handful of games short of qualifying for 10 full seasons of MLB service time – and a completely vested MLB pension- the five-year Halo was bluntly cut on the final day of spring training.
Wilfong was sitting at home in his native Southern California when the Giants infield situation smoldered into a full -blown Kentucky tire fire in late April.
Within a matter of days the G-Men lost three-fourths of their starting infield.
A dangerous pitch from the Cardinals Danny Cox came in high and tight and broke 3B Chris Brown’s jaw. Shortstop Jose Uribe also pulled up lame with a pulled hamstring.
Then, one morning 2B Robby Thompson woke up and discovered he couldn’t bend over to tie his shoes.
An old back injury alternately described as a “lingering stress fracture” and “congenital back defect” flared up sending the Giants sophomore sensation to the training table for an undetermined period.
With season ending-surgery a possibility for the popular Robby, the Giants were left scrambling for a contingency plan.
Utility-men Chris Speier, Randy Kutcher, Mike Woodard and Mark Wasinger all gave it a go at 2B. But each were better suited for utility roles.
San Francisco was so anxious about securing a battle-tested 2B they took the unusual step of flying Wilfong to a road trip stop in St. Louis for a pregame audition.
Wilfong looked so shipshape that Giants President Al Rosen had a contract waiting for the steady veteran the moment he stepped off the field.
“Al Rosen asked, ‘You wanna play?’ “ said Wilfong. “I said, ‘You kidding’? “
It was a perfect fit… for about three games. Then suddenly it wasn’t.
Before & After
A Pasadena native, Wilfong broke into pro ball in 1971 as a 17 -year-old 13th round draft pick by Minnesota out of Northview High School in Covina after batting .367 as a senior.
After slogging through six seasons of minor league ball, Wilfong made his big league debut with the Twins in 1977.
A deft fielder and skilled bunter, the fundamentally sound Wilfong quickly became a favorite of Minnesota manager Gene Mauch. Wilfong would go on to play the lions share of his MLB career under the command of the Lil’ General with both the Twins and Angels
In 1979, Wilfong enjoyed a career season for the Twins, batting .313 in 140 games and leading the American League with 25 sacrifices. In 1980, Wilfong led all AL second basemen in fielding percentage.
In mid-1982, the Mauch-helmed Angels shipped young slugging prospect Tom Brunansky to Minnesota to bring Wilfong and RHP reliever Doug Corbett back to Anaheim.
The defensive-minded Wilfong would share 2B over the next several seasons with the veteran slugger Bobby Grich.
For his career Wilfong batted just a shade below .250, but in high leverage situations he ramped up production. With runners on base, Wilfong batted .269. With runners in scoring position Rob’s average rose to .279 and in bases loaded situations the wiry infielder’s success rate leapt all the way up to .295.
Wilfong was a member of two division winning Angels clubs in 1982 and 1986.
Due to Boston’s thrilling comeback in the ‘86 playoffs – Wilfong’s resolute performance in Game 5 of that series is now largely forgotten.
The Angels were just one strike away from their first ever World Series berth when RHP Donnie Moore infamously coughed up Dave Henderson’s go ahead two-run 9th inning homer to put the Red Sox up 6-5 in a sunny Southern California meltdown.
While most people today only remember Henderson – who coincidentally also had a cameo appearance on the ‘87 Giants – and his dramatic dinger, the outcome of Game 5 and the series was far from decided at that point.
To open the home half of the 9th, C Bob Boone singled off Boston’s RHP Bob Stanley. Ruppert Jones pinch-ran and was advanced to second on a sacrifice. That brought up Wilfong as Boston turned to LHP reliever Joe Sambito.
Though the left-handed swinging Wilfong was a far superior career batter vs. right-handers (.258 compared to .176) Mauch ignored the splits knowing Wilfong’s history with runners on base.
Wilfong did not disappoint, ripping the veteran southpaw’s initial pitch into right field. The swift Jones beat the throw home to tie the game 6-6.
Boston would however take the lead for good in the 11th, on a Henderson sacrifice fly, winning 7-6.
Wilfong recorded two hits in Game 6, but got little help as Boston glided to a 10-4 win. Boston also easily won Game 7 to send the glum Angels back to Disneyland.
He Never Had A Bobblehead Day. But…
Wilfong’s first game with the Giants was also the career American Leaguer’s first ever at notoriously blustery Candlestick Park.
Even for Candlestick standards the weather at the mid-spring night game vs. the Cubs (5/7/87) was especially windy and raw.
Swirling gusts blew grit in the faces of ticket buyers and before the game was over, five players would have to chase down wind blown caps.
John McSherry’s navy blue umpire hat flew so far off his head in the 5th inning that it appeared to have wings. After retrieving it from the left field corner, instead of putting it back on, the veteran arbiter emphatically stuffed it in a coat pocket.
After grounding out in his first at-bat, Wilfong came up again in the third with starting RHP Mike LaCoss on second and no outs.
Wilfong stepped up to face Cubs starter RHP Ed Lynch who moments earlier had his own cap whisked away to the center field fence.
Wilfong struck what he initially believed to be a sharp base hit off Lynch. But the drive got lift and kept soaring. The whack didn’t stop until it kissed off the right field seats for a two-run homer.
“I hit the ball good, but I got it up in the wind and that’s what did it,” said Wilfong. “I was just trying to hit the ball on the ground to the right side.
“This is the first time I’ve played here and the stories about the wind are all true,” Wilfong continued. “When I went around the bases I was just trying to stay on my feet.”
The next day, newspapers throughout the country ran an animated wire service photo of Cubs players in the visitors dugout covering their faces with blue satin jackets and white towels in a desperate attempt to keep dirt and other airborne stadium debris out of their eyes.
“Aw, the wind wasn’t all that bad,” deadpanned the Giants rookie Matt Williams, who contributed two hits and three RBI in the 11-1 blow out San Francisco win. “You just couldn’t see.”
After five years of playing home games in Anaheim’s benign Angel Stadium, it was clear Wilfong wasn’t quite ready for Candlestick’s unique San Francisco treats.
“Some guys were saying this was a nice day,” a doubtful Wilfong sighed. “If that’s true I don’t want to see a bad one.”
It was easy to imagine that after a game with highlights would have played well to Weather Channel viewers, Wilfong was having seconds thoughts about his move north.
One wouldn’t have to imagine for long.
Giant Footprint
The next night, Wilfong was again the Giants leadoff hitter vs. Pittsburgh. He failed to bat safety, but walked, stole a base and scored on Jeffery Leonard’s two-run bomb in a Giants 4-2 win.
Wilfong sat the next day as 37-year-old Speier played 2B and led the Orange & Black to a 9-4 victory with a jaw-dropping grand slam. With the victory, San Francisco moved into sole possession of first place in the NL West.
With a right-hander throwing for Pittsburgh on Sunday, Wilfong would have been the logical choice to play 2B. But not only was Wilfong conspicuously absent from the Giants lineup, he wasn’t in uniform at all.
Wilfong blew out the clubhouse door prior to first pitch after informing team management he was seriously considering retiring from baseball.
“The desire’s not there,” said Giants manager Roger Craig, stating the player wanted to discuss the matter with his wife before coming to a final decision.
“I know what my wife would say to me. ‘Get you butt back (to the team),” Craig joked. “I admire the guy for admitting it rather than being dishonest.”
Rosen added: “Wilfong just said he didn’t know if he still had the fire in his belly. We told him to go home and think about it and we’d leave the options open to him.”
Two days later and still short of qualifying for a full pension, Wilfong was granted his unconditional release.
“Rob Wilfong has advised us he no longer wishes to play baseball,” said a tempered Rosen. “He has convinced us he is serious about this desire.”
Soon Thompson and Uribe would make a triumphant returns. The snake-bit Brown would heal, but then got traded in a package of players that netted slugging 3B/OF Kevin Mitchell and two others.
In the final days of the ‘87 regular season, the Giants would auspiciously capture their first division title in 17 years.
There was no mention of Wilfong again until it came time for the players to divide postseason bonus shares.
“We were joking about how much Rob Wilfong would get,” said Giants C Bob Brenly. “He was only here for three days… But he had one game-winning hit for us.”
