A staggering collapse leaves the San Francisco Giants teetering on a century of defeats. Buster Posey and team leaders now weigh the symbolic damage against a desperate rebuilding future.
The San Francisco Giants are approaching a part of franchise history they would prefer to avoid.
At 57-82 with 23 games remaining, San Francisco is in legitimate danger of reaching 100 losses, a stunning position for a franchise that was celebrating three World Series between 2010 and 2014.
According to MLB.com’s official records, the Giants have finished with triple-digit losses only once during their 144-year history, including their years in New York.
A 5-18 finish would make this season only the second time the franchise has reached that mark.
What 100 losses means
Manager Tony Vitello is not interested in attaching too much meaning to specific streaks or round numbers, although, according to Susan Slusser from the San Francisco Chronicle, he acknowledged that the situation is clearly not good.
“I’ve never been into streaks and those kinds of numbers,” Vitello said. “But it’s not good.”
Veteran shortstop Willy Adames views the bigger picture differently.
For Adames, the difference between 95 and 100 losses does not change the reality of a disappointing season.
The former All-Star has experienced enough baseball battles to know that reaching the postseason is the real dividing line.
If a team misses October entirely, the exact number of losses becomes secondary.
“To me, what difference does it make if you lose 95 or 100 games?” Adames said. “You’re out of the race; what’s the point of the discussion? I see it as a disappointment either way.”
Posey’s point of view
President of baseball operations Buster Posey understands why 100 losses still carries extra weight.
Posey was the star catcher during San Francisco’s last three World Series and experienced both winning and losing during his playing career.
He is now responsible for rebuilding and restructuring the franchise from the front office.
Posey acknowledged that 100 losses is a round number the Giants would prefer to avoid, even if there is little practical difference between finishing with 98, 99 or 100 defeats.
“I think it’s one of those round numbers that you want to avoid,” Posey said. “Now, if you lose 98 or 99 games, I don’t know if it makes that big of a difference, but would we like to avoid losing 100? Yes. Yeah.”
He also understands that difficult seasons can provide information.
With so many negative moments this year, Posey sees value in evaluating how players perform against MLB competition while the organization determines who can become part of its future.
“You’re trying to find the positive in some of these things when there have been a lot of tough moments and negatives this year. One positive is being able to see how these guys play at the highest level,” Posey explained.
San Francisco may not be able to erase the disappointment of this season, but players such as Rafael Devers, Adames, and Bryce Eldridge can help determine what the organization carries forward from it.
