S.F. earns 1st Series title
ARLINGTON, Texas — Say Hey.
Say World Series champions.
The prize that eluded Willie and Barry for so long finally belongs to the San Francisco Giants, thanks to a band of self-described castoffs and misfits and their shaggy-haired ace.
Tim Lincecum, Edgar Renteria and the Giants won the title Monday night, beating the Texas Rangers 3-1 in a tense Game 5 and taking the trophy home to the city by the Bay for the first time.
"San Francisco is going nuts, we're going nuts and it feels really good," closer Brian Wilson said.
It was an overdue victory. Willie Mays led the Giants to their previous crown in 1954, four years before they moved West. After that, they never quite got it done despite the likes of baseball giants Barry Bonds, Juan Marichal and Willie McCovey.
"This buried a lot of bones — '62, '89, 2002," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said, ticking off losing Series appearances. "This group deserved it, faithful from the beginning. We're proud and humbled by the achievement."
Lincecum outdueled Cliff Lee in a matchup that was scoreless until Renteria earned the Series MVP award by hitting a stunning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning. Nelson Cruz homered in the bottom half, but Lincecum returned to his wicked self and preserved the lead.
Lincecum won this game of Texas Hold 'em, beating Lee for the second time in a week. He gave up three hits over eight innings and struck out 10.
The two-time NL Cy Young winner arrived at Rangers Ballpark wearing a bow tie, as if he was going to a party. He had one on the mound, for sure.
"Pretty collected. I was very poised out there. From the first inning on my adrenaline kind of just dissipated and I was able to calm down," he said.
Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for a save, completing a surprising romp through the postseason for a pitching-rich team that waited until the final day to clinch a playoff spot.
Wilson struck out Cruz swinging to end it, turned toward center field and crossed his wrists in front of his chest as he does after all his saves.
"All the experts out there picked us last," Huff said. Normally rough and tough, he teared up.
Manager Bruce Bochy enjoys calling his Giants a ragtag bunch. Maybe Renteria, Cody Ross, Huff and Freddy Sanchez fit that description. Cut loose by other clubs this season and before, they all wound up in San Francisco.
But the foundation of this team — for now, for the future — is totally home grown, built on a deep, talented and young rotation, a rookie catcher with huge star potential and their funky closer.
"For us to win for our fans, it's never been done there, and with all those great teams," Bochy said.
And just like that, all the Giants' past troubles seemed like ancient history.
The Giants won their previous title when they played in New York at the Polo Grounds. That's where Mays raced back for perhaps the most famous catch of all time.
They moved West in 1958 and had tried ever since to escape a sort of big league Alcatraz — the place where teams get stuck for decades as also-rans. The Red Sox and White Sox got free, not so the Cubs and Indians.
So clang the cable car bells. Loudly, too. Baseball's best play by the Bay.
