Tag: San Francisco Giants

Sharks Win 7-4 Over Oilers: Two Karlssons score three goals

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 7-4 at the Rogers Place Saturday. Sharks goals came from Joonas Donskoi, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture (2), Erik Karlsson and Melker Karlsson (2). Erik Karlsson, returning from his two game suspension, garnered four points in Saturday’s game. San Jose’s Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win. For the Oilers, goals came from Connor McDavid (2), Caleb Jones and Leon Draisaitl. Cam Talbot made 33 saves for Edmonton.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “It was a good game for us, I think we took advantage of a team with some depth issues on defense and some young guys playing in key spots there. But, to our credit, we showed up and took advantage of what we needed to take advantage of. I thought we did a good job of playing in their end and putting some pressure on them.”

The Oilers scored first in Saturday’s game. It was a strange play, involving an early signal from the official, a review by the NHL, and a goal that came after the official had signaled a goal. At 6:26 of the first period, Ty Rattie took a shot that Martin Jones just barely stopped. While the official was waving a goal there and the goal horn was blaring, Connor McDavid knocked the puck in around Jones. The NHL reviewed the first shot to determine that it was not a goal but said nothing about the official’s gesturing before the whistle. Assists went to Ty Rattie and Leon Draisaitl. Time of the goal was 6:28.

Down 1-0, the Sharks carried on to score at 6:44. Joonas Donskoi went into the Oilers zone three on one with Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl. The three exchanges passes until Donskoi was almost at the goal line, when he took the shot and beat Cam Talbot over the pad. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

The Sharks took the lead at 10:13 with a goal from Tomas Hertl. Hertl caught the pass from Burns, spun around in front of the net, looking like he might backhand it and drawing Talbot to the left side of the net. Instead, he kept turning and shot into the other side. Assists went to Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks added to the lead at 6:39 of the third period. Logan Couture pulled the puck off the boards away from McDavid, who was tangled up with a prone and sliding Joe Pavelski. He found Joe Thornton behind the net with a pass. Thornton held the puck there until Couture was in a good shooting position above the goal line. Couture’s shot slipped under Talbot and trickled over the line after a short delay. Assists went to Thornton and Pavelski.

Erik Karlsson added another goal and his third point of the game at 18:45 of the second. The Sharks had just completed a distinctly lackluster power play and the Sharks were having a heck of a time holding the zone. They pulled themselves back together after disorderly spell. Joonas Donskoi was in the offensive zone with Barclay Goodrow and Marcus Sorensen. The trio caused some havoc around the net and Goodrow got the puck to Karlsson at the point. Donskoi was battling with Caleb Jones in front of the goalie, creating a good screen for Karlsson’s shot. Assists went to Goodrow and Donskoi.

Melker Karlsson scored the Sharks’ fifth goal at 2:41 of the third period. He tipped a Brent Burns shot from the point, with Goodrow creating a screen in front of Talbot. Assists went to Burns and Kevin Labanc.

Couture added a sixth goal, this one short-handed, at 8:25. Timo Meier was in the box for high-sticking. Evander Kane beat the Oilers defense to the puck and took it away from the goalie, who was up at the half-boards. Kane carried the puck around behind the net (tended by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse) and found Couture coming to the net. Couture’s shot went under Talbot as he was getting back into position.

The Oilers got one back as Caleb Jones scored his first NHL goal at 10:40. Ty Rattie made a pass around a sliding Brenden Dillon to get the puck in front of the net, where Jones was ready to take the shot. He put the puck past Martin Jones as he slid across to follow the pass. Assists went to Rattie and Drake Caggiula.

Melker Karlsson scored a second time at 14:09. Erik Karlsson took the puck off the faceoff and carried it at high speed behind the net. Instead of going around the net, he made a last-second pass to the front of the net, where Melker Karlsson was waiting to knock it in. Assists went to Karlsson and Goodrow.

Leon Draisaitl scored the Oilers’ third goal at 16:53. Draisaitl carried the puck through the neutral zone, skating around Justin Braun and beating Martin Jones over the shoulder. An assist went to Milan Lucic.

Connor McDavid added a fourth goal for the Oilers at 19:54. McDavid tipped a shot from Chris Wideman and it bounced up in a high arc over Martin Jones. Assists went to Wideman and Rattie.

During the second period, Marcus Sorensen took a high hit that went unnoticed by the officials, even though he was pushed into one official in the process. He left the game for a time but did return. He sat during the final five minutes of the game as well, for precautionary reasons per Coach DeBoer.

The Sharks will next play on Monday, New Year’s Eve, in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 PM PT.

In Division ranking, the Sharks are currently tied at 49 points with first-place Calgary, but the Flames have two games in hand. Those 49 points are good for third in the Western Conference right now, behind Calgary and Winnipeg.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Raiders’ last minute TD key to third win of season; 49ers’ Kittle has record first half; A’s plan to shore up pitching this winter; plus more

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silverandblackpride.com photo: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr throws against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense Sun Dec 9th at the Oakland Coliseum for the Raiders third win of the season

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Oakland Raiders pulled off a surprise win against the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21. The key play of the game a quarterback Derek Carr pass to Derek Carrier for a 43-yard touchdown. The Raiders get their third win of the year.

#2 The 49ers got by the Denver Broncos, thanks to tight end George Kittle, who got an 85-yard touchdown pass to help fire up the team for a 20-14 win. The third win for SF of the season

#3 The A’s plan to shore up their pitching staff during the winter meetings. Mike Fiers was non tendered and the A’s will shop for some starting pitching during this winter.

#4 The San Francisco Giants need to stock their outfield this winter. Especially after their anchor Andrew McCutchen left for the Yankees late last season and Hunter Pence will not be back. That gives Giants GM Farhan Zaidi plenty of work to do.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: NAACP joins boycott against S.F. Giants and owner Johnson; Donations came after racist remark and Confederate uniform photo of Hyde-Smith

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photo from cnn.com: Mississippi Senator and Republican candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith wearing Confederate hat and carrying authentic Confederate rifle from the Civil War has received two donations from San Francisco Giants majority owner Charles B Smith

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 San Francisco Giants majority owner Charles B Johnson is feeling the heat after his second donation to Mississippi Republican candidate Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. While Hyde-Smith leads her Democratic opponent Mike Espy by 10 points in the polls for a run off election this Friday. Johnson is feeling the heat from Giants fans for his donation to Hyde-Smith, who has made racist remarks.

#2  How much do the Giants need to cut ties with Johnson and the partners’ vote to force Johnson to sell his share to them? Johnson defended himself saying he knew nothing about Hyde-Smith being a political racist and from a legal stand point that Johnson has a legal right to donate to any candidate he deems fit.

#3 There are a number of fans who do not want to do business with the Giants some and are ready to get a refund for their season tickets or refuse to come back to AT&T Park until Johnson is out as team owner. The NAACP announced on Monday night that they have called for a boycott against the Giants.

#4 Johnson made a donation to a Mississippi candidate in the maximum of $2700 and said he didn’t know anything about Smith saying that if she was invited to a public hanging she’d want front row seats and that she wore a confederate gray uniform and had her picture taken with it on. Johnson 85 made a donation to Hyde-Smith some nine days after she made the public hanging remark.

#5 We asked Amaury if this could bring the Giants down. The Giants hold a number of heritage ethnic themes before many Giants games, but no one right now believes the Giants’ sincerity about diversity with Johnson donating money to a political bigot according to fans, the NAACP and some sports analysts.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Rams-Chiefs set record for the ages; Will Warriors get back to normal?

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Photo credit: nfl.com

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Former Cal football quarterback Jared Goff had himself an evening on Monday Night Football in a razor close game against the Kansas City Chiefs a game for the ages as the LA Rams defeated the Chiefs 54-51 in the highest scoring game in MNF history. Goff passed for 413 yards, four touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown.

#2 The Warriors, who have lost three straight games, and open a four-game homestand on Wednesday night. Is there concern about how they’ll fare as all the talk has been about the dissension on the team as to why this team is untracked?

#3 San Francisco Giants Team president Farhan Zaidi is still in his get to know you mode. Zaidi is still getting to know the players and front office staff is going through resumes and recommendation letters and emails for who he will decide to find as the new GM for the Giants.

#4 In a meeting this week during practice at the San Francisco 49ers (2-8), head coach Kyle Shanahan made it very clear to his players that their jobs were on the line and they had better get it together soon as the team prepares for their next game in Tampa Bay this Sunday after coming off a Monday Night Football loss on Nov. 12th to the New York Giants.

#5 The Oakland Raiders (2-8) lend a great deal of credit to their running backs, who carried for scores and yards, to help the Raiders in their razor close win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday 23-21. The two running backs of record to get some nice pats on the back Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, who both combined for 84 yards and 20 carries in the Raiders’ win.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Many memories of McCovey shared at AT&T Park

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Photo credit: @957thegame

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — There may not be a game at AT&T Park on this Thursday morning, but there are people in the stands.

Fans of the San Francisco Giants have flocked to the corner of Third and King Streets to say goodbyes, and pay their respects to number 44, Willie McCovey, who passed away on October 31, at the age of 80.

McCovey, who played 19 of his 22 seasons wearing the Orange and Black was probably the most beloved Giants player of them all, with the exception of fellow Alabama native, the incomparable Willie Mays.

During his Hall of Fame career, McCovey hit 521 home runs, tying him with his boyhood idol Ted Williams and Frank Thomas for 20th place all-time.

In 2588 games, McCovey hit .270, and also drove in 1555 runs in his career. He was also walked 1345 times, including getting intentionally walked 260 times. He also hit 18 grand slams during his career.

When McCovey made his Major League debut on July 30, 1959 for the Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies at Seals Stadium, a game that the Giants would win 7-2 behind a complete game by Mike McCormick before a crowd of 10,114 at Seals Stadium.

In that game, McCovey went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. He also hit two triples all against future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

McCovey played 52 games in that 1959 season, McCovey hit .354 with 13 home runs and 38 runs batted in, as he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. Twenty-seven of McCovey’s 68 hits that season were extra base hits.

McCovey was intentionally walked a then record 45 times in 1969, which would stand as the major-league record until Barry Bonds obliterated that record in 2002, as he was intentionally walked 68 times. Two years later, Bonds was intentionally walked a whopping 120 times, over 2.5 times as many times as McCovey in 1969.

It was in that 1969 season that McCovey won his only National League Most Valuable Player award, as he batted .320 with 45 home runs and drove in 126 runs.

McCovey led the National League in home runs and RBIs, and finished fifth in batting behind Pete Rose, who led the National League with a .348 average.

After the 1973 season, McCovey was traded to the San Diego Padres with Bernie Williams for Mike Caldwell.

In two and a half seasons with the Padres, McCovey played in 321 games, while batting .242 with 52 home runs and 167 runs batted in.

On August 30, 1976, McCovey was purchased by the Oakland Athletics from the Padres. In 11 games with the A’s, McCovey batted .208 with zero home runs and zero runs batted in.

McCovey was granted free agency after the 1976 season, and returned to the Giants, with whom he played his final three and a half years before retiring on July 6, 1980 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. In his final at-bat, McCovey hit a sacrifice fly off of Rick Sutcliffe to score Jack Clark.

Over his 22-year career, McCovey played in one World Series, where he lined out for the final out to Bobby Richardson in Game Seven of the 1962 World Series that gave the New York Yankees their 20th World Championship. If that hit would have been three feet higher, the Giants would have won the World Series.

Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame issued a cartoon on December 22, 1962 that shows Linus and Charlie sitting down and looking somber, and finally Charlie cries out “Why Couldn’t McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher.”

McCovey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 with 81.4% of the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Giants Public Address Announcer Renel Brooks-Moon shared a memory of when her mother met McCovey, and Mrs. Brooks reminded him of what he did in his first game on July 30, 1959.

Team President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer, who grew up in the city shared many memories of McCovey, including the first time he met him and sat on his lap at a store on the corner of Geary Blvd. and 29th Ave. Baer told McCovey story years later, and McCovey replied by saying that is why he had all those knee problems.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed shared stories about McCovey the person, as she wanted to leave the baseball stories to the players. Breed spoke about the Junior Giants, and his days in the community of San Francisco.

“This is a family, and we are celebrating a life,” said 1989 Willie Mac Award winner Dave Dravecky.

“I have never been around a more humbler man than Willie McCovey,” Dravecky added, as he stood there on the dais right in front of the pitchers’ mound.

McCovey’s godson Jeff Dudum talked about the man off the field, and shared the stories of how his family found a house for him in the East Bay, and McCovey replied by saying, “Now Jeffrey, I am a Giant and there is no way I can live in A’s territory.”

Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson shared stories about the five Hall of Famers from Mobile, Alabama. That included McCovey, Hank Aaron, Ozzie Smith, Billy Williams and Satchel Paige.

McCovey wore the number 44 in honor of Aaron, who made his debut for the Milwaukee Braves in 1954.

Smith mentioned to Idelson that he got his first major league hit off of Jim Barr at Candlestick Park on April 8, 1978, and McCovey gave Smith the ball and said good luck.

Former teammates Gaylord Perry, Felipe Alou, Joe Amalfitano and Orlando Cepeda all shared great stories of their late teammate.

Barry Bonds thanked McCovey for letting him call him Uncle Mac, and mentioned how he was in left, his godfather Willie Mays was in center, his father Bobby in right, Uncle Mac at first, Fuentes at second, Chris Speier at short, he wished Jim Ray Hart could have been at third, Perry on the mound and Dave Rader was the catcher back when Bonds was a kid.

Mike Krukow and the other Willie Mac Award winners in attendance came up, and Krukow spoke about when he faced McCovey at Candlestick Park and McCovey hit his 19th grand slam, but it went foul. McCovey called Krukow number 19 for the rest of his relationship.

Krukow was joined on the dais by Buster Posey, Clark, Shawon Dunston, Nick Hundley, Marvin Benard, Dravecky and Joe Morgan.

The program then continued with a call from a Sunday afternoon game on June 29, 1980, where McCovey hit a game-winning double off of Bobby Castillo of the Dodgers to score Rennie Stennett, as the Giants defeated the Dodgers 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader between the two longtime rivals.

Finally, like in any Giants home win, the song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” by Tony Bennett was played, as the San Francisco Fire Department Fire Boats sprayed water from their spouts in McCovey Cove.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Usher the Era of Analytics

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By: Amaury Pi-González

The Giants won their three World Series in San Francisco in 2010, 2012 and 2014 with very good pitching, good defense, timely hitting and less power. Bu now, the game has drastically changed, and it is all about the modern metrics, analytics and the launch angle. Power, power and more power! Relief pitchers come in early after a starter has seen the lineup three times. That being said, there is a totally different approach to the game today than the last time the Giants won the World Series.

Farhan Zaid, aged 41, is the Giants’ new President of Baseball Operations and he will report only to Larry Baer, Chief Executive Officer, in San Francisco.

“He’s definitely an analytical-type guy who will use his computer skills to create a model for the Major League club and the Draft,” said a National League official.

However, Zaidi has a good reputation in working well with scouts.

Since the All-Star Break in 2016, the Giants have won a total 167 games. The Giants join the Orioles, White Sox and Padres on that woeful list. Zaidi is considered a top baseball mind who was the Dodgers’ General Manager for the previous four seasons reporting to Andrew Friedman, President of Baseball Operations, in Los Angeles.

Zaidi also worked for the A’s from 2005 to 2014. He urged the A’s to acquire Yoenis Céspedes. With an economic degree from MIT and a PhD in economics from UC Berkeley, he is an intelligent and educated baseball executive. Of the six consecutive NL West Division titles the Dodgers have won, four were under Zaidi.

The Giants’ Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy is your typical old school type of manager and many are skeptical if he is going to get along with Zaidi. That remains to be seen, but there is no question that Bochy’s legacy has been cemented. And even if he retired today, the Giants will have to move on, and he is the first to understand the game is changing and the Giants do not want to be the last team to join the party.

The Giants have some heavy contracts on their payroll and they will have to be extremely creative to return to be the contending team they were three years ago. Zaidi’s mission is to find the magic formula to return this franchise to success on the field and the obvious decisions he has to make right away, like, say, to keep ace Madison Bumgarner or to trade him? The Giants feel they do not have to rebuild,and believe they still have the pieces to return to be a power in the NL West. Some Zaidi’s first decisions could indicate which way the Giants are headed.

The Giants need younger and more athletic players as their current roster is not getting any younger. AT&T Park is not a home run friendly park, and even if they would acquire Bryce Harper and give him the $400 million contract he and his agent are seeking, they might still need more than Harper to fight the Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks.

Farhan Zaidi returns to the Bay Area

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

After letting Bobby Evans go as the General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, the team knew that they needed a leader who was a proven winner.

Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer looked to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for his new head of baseball operations, and it is Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi, who spent the last four years down south.

“We set out to find one of the best minds in baseball and Farhan’s many accomplishments and expertise exceeded our expectations,” said Baer. “Farhan is widely viewed as one of the top executives in our industry and we are thrilled to have him lead the next chapter of Giants Baseball.”

Zaidi is now the President of Baseball Operations for the Giants, who also has ties to the Bay Area, as he spent 10 seasons across the bay with the Oakland A’s, where he started as a baseball operations analyst in 2005 before he was promoted to director of baseball operations in 2009. His last position with the A’s was as assistant general manager/director of baseball operations.

While with the Dodgers, the team won four consecutive National League Western Division Championships, making the National League Championship over the past three season and the World Series over the past two years. The Dodgers went 379-270, a winning percentage of .584 during those four years, the second highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball.

Famed Giants star Willie McCovey dies at 80

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Willie McCovey, who hit 521 home runs over a 22-year career with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics passed away at the age of 80.

McCovey, whose 521 home runs were the most by a left-handed batter in National League history until Barry Bonds broke the record in his record setting season of 2001, when he hit a major-league record 73 home runs.

“San Francisco and the entire baseball community lost a true gentleman and legend, and our collective hearts are broken,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. “Willie was a beloved figure throughout his playing days and in retirement. He will be deeply missed by the many people he touched.

“For more than six decades, he gave his heart and soul to the Giants — as one of the greatest players of all time, as a quiet leader in the clubhouse, as a mentor to the Giants who followed in his footsteps, as an inspiration to our Junior Giants, and as a fan cheering on the team from his booth.”

The Giants, with whom McCovey played 19 of his 22 seasons paid tribute by flying the flags at AT&T Park at half-staff.

McCovey retired on July 6, 1980, after pinch-hitting against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

When he retired, his 18 grand slams were second most in major league history. McCovey led the league in home runs on three different occasions, runs batted in twice. The six-time All-Star finished his career with those 521 home runs, tying his boyhood hero Ted Williams, drove in 1,555 runs and batted .270.

McCovey made his major-league debut on July 30, 1959, as he went 4-for-4 in his first game against the Philadelphia Phillies and future Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts.

In 1969, McCovey won his only National League Most Valuable Player award, as he led the league with 45 home runs, 126 runs batted in and on-base percentage at .453.

“Willie McCovey was one of our game’s greatest power hitters,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He won the National League MVP in 1969 and, alongside fellow Hall of Famer and Alabama native Willie Mays, was a key part of many memorable Giants’ teams. For 22 years on the field and many more after retiring, Willie was a superb ambassador for the Giants and our game.”

Over the past 18 years, McCovey served as an advisor for the Giants. Over the past few years, McCovey was confined to a wheelchair.

“Every moment he will be terribly missed,” said McCovey’s wife, Estella, whom he married this past summer. “He was my best friend and husband. Living life without him will never be the same.”

McCovey is also survived by one daughter, Allison, and three grandchildren, Raven, Philip, and Marissa. McCovey also is survived by sister Frances and brothers Clauzell and Cleon.

The Giants said a public celebration of McCovey’s life would be held at a later date.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A Gentle Giant, Willie McCovey, Dies at 80

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By: Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the great Willie McCovey passed away at the age of 80 after a battle with ongoing health issues. He was surrounded by his family at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife Estela and daughter Allison. He was truly Gentle Giant in every sense of the word. He played for 22 seasons (19 with the San Francisco Giants, three with  the San Diego Padres and a brief stint with the Oakland Athletics). During a brilliant 22-year, Hall of Fame career in the Major Leagues from 1959-1980, he compiled 2,211 hits, 521 home runs, 353 doubles and 1,555 runs batted-in. He was a first ballot inductee in 1986 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. Born in Mobile, Alabama on January 10,1938, he was one of ten children, and also played football and basketball as a youngster.

The first baseman and outfielder was nicknamed “Stretch.” At 6-foot-4, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1959 with the Giants, selected to six All-Star Games and was named the MVP in the 1969 All-Star Game. He led the National League in home runs in three seasons and twice in runs batted-in. Only Barry Bonds (762) have more home runs for a left-handed hitter in the NL than McCovey with 521 round-trippers.

“He could hit a ball farther than anyone I ever played with,” Willie Mays once said of McCovey.

The great St. Louis Cardinals’ right-handed Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Gibson, said of number 44: “He was one scary hitter.” Those are impressive words from a pitcher that usually was not scared of anybody. McCovey’s power was so awesome that the Giants designated the behind the right-field side by the bay at AT&T Park after the slugger and named it “McCovey Cove” where he also has a statue.

Before Candlestick Park was totally enclosed, most of us remember how many kids would line-up behind the cyclone fence in right field every time McCovey came to the plate expecting to catch a home run ball. He was the ultimate gamer, who among his many quotes, once said after retiring: “I had pain in both knees my whole career.”

Not only one great and classy baseball player, but McCovey was a kind man with a big heart who always ready to sign an autograph to an admiring fan. A mild mannered man that ingratiated baseball, his teammates and his organization. Never a scandal or controversy during a long and successful career. After retiring, he followed his beloved Giants and had his own box at AT&T Park. His presence and kindness will be missed.

Baseball and America lost a great guy today.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Giants considering hiring woman for GM spot

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newsday.com photo: Then-Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng walks through the hotel lobby during the first day of MLB annual general managers meetings in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 5, 2007.

By Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO — The Major League Baseball General Manager meetings are scheduled to begin November 5th.

The San Francisco Giants are searching for a new General Manager, and many are asking, will they have one in place by then? The organization needs somebody to take charge and make important decisions pertaining their immediate future. Kim Ng is among the qualified people for the job. She has overseen international operations and talent development for the MLB. She also worked for the LA Dodgers as Vice President and Assistant to then-GM Ned Coletti as well as the front offices of the Yankees and White Sox. Her reputation is impeccable.

Among others candidates, the Giants have also shown interest on Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns, but the owner of the Brewers, Mark Attanasio, declined the Giants permission to speak with Stearns. Bobby Evans, who was the GM, was fired last month and the Giants announced they are searching for another executive to take that position. Maybe the Giants will find the person they want during those winter meetings starting on November 5th and conduct the interviews of the people available for the job. Who knows, and maybe make news with the announcement then.

If the Giants sign Kim Ng, it will obviously make news nationwide, and it would make sense since they play in San Francisco–one of the most diverse and progressive cities in the country.

On the other hand, the main priority for any baseball club seeking such an important position is to find the most qualified person regarding of gender or ethnic background. Whomever takes over will have to go to work right away. Trade Madison Bumgarner or not? Also, evaluate the scouting for the club. The Giants will have to take a different direction and look for younger talented players.

The Warriors will be playing within walking distance from AT&T Park at the Chase Arena next basketball season and they are the perennial winners currently in the Bay Area, dethroning the Giants, who were the winners from 2010 until 2016.

Baseball is at a very important crossroad in history as the international scouting, the sabermetrics side and the old school methods are at an intersection. It would make sense that the person for this job will grasp the understanding of all these and show the leadership required to revive a financially healthy franchise than until a couple of years ago enjoyed great success on the field.

If Ng has all those qualifications, she could be the one.