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The Last Real Race...

Over at ESPN.com there is a piece on the 1993 pennant chase between our Giants and the Atlanta Braves.  Of course we all know how that turned out,  but I did find myself getting a little nostalgic when reading about it especially since I was fairly young when it happened(12yrs old).

It would take a transcendent pitching staff, the midseason heist of a slugging first baseman, the burning of a stadium, and a comeback from a double-digit deficit to beat Dusty's Giants. But the Atlanta Braves, playing Javert to the Giants' Valjean all year long, would finally subdue San Fran on the final day of the regular season, the last of its kind.

If it's not too traumatizing to relive this moment I would recommend checking it out.  If nothing else it reinforces why we should hate the Dodgers, Rockies, and Braves so much.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=93pennant

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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Re: The Last Real Race...
It was a good read...saddening, yet I like to hope for this outcome:

Linecum = Maddox
Cain = Smoltz
Lowry = Avery
Zito = Glavine

They understandably aren't as good as their Braves counterparts were, but considering their age and potential, our pitching staff could be as potent as that historical one in 4 or 5 years.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 26, 2007 12:26 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
Good article. I liked this quote at the end: "The drama of late-season baseball has been transferred from occasional but memorable all-or-nothing contests between great teams, to annual lower-stakes games between the good-to-mediocre. Could be an apt metaphor for the culture at large."
Lon Simmons' adopted dad.

by Kitspool on Sep 26, 2007 12:36 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
good stuff. what a team.  It's true that the races aren't the same, but on the other hand now we have 4 races per league instead of 2, so that's kinda cool.  

I remember watching that last game - oh the horror. Not as bad as... well nevermind.

2002? I'm over it. But I'll never be over Rich Aurilia.

by wjackalope on Sep 26, 2007 12:43 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
It's cool. We can talk openly about the holocaust here. I guess it wasn't as bad as that, but I think the debate remains pretty heated.
Dave Righetti: You don't know him. / Read My Blog, Because I Write It

by howtheyscored on Sep 26, 2007 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
1993 is a myth.
The Maharajai steals at will (plus he's not Matt Morris).

by Mike Benjamin Hit King on Sep 26, 2007 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
How did we lose that game...geez...Five run lead...

[curls into fetal position]

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 26, 2007 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

could've had dennis martinez for salomon torres
#%&#&^%#(^&#*&^(@@##@%#$#
WE FIGHT WARS! WE CHEAT ON OUR SPOUSES! WE LISTEN! TO THE STEVE MILLER BAND! BUT IF;! WE THROW OURSELVES INTO SOMETHING AS GLORIOUS AS BASEBALL ALL IS FORGIVEN!

by nick on Sep 26, 2007 1:12 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: could've had dennis martinez for salomon torre
coulda had Fred McGriff for Torres.
Bonds stands alone.

by nostocksjustbonds on Sep 26, 2007 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
Baker on why he went with Torres: "That made my mind up right there -- stick with the talent, regardless of experience."

Is that why Giants management has been so obsessed with veterans?  The Salomon Torres Game?

Can't w8 for '08!

by southcitysteve on Sep 26, 2007 1:30 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
it WAS a traumatic experience.
Bonds stands alone.

by nostocksjustbonds on Sep 26, 2007 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

My all-time favorite team
Bonds, Matt Williams and Will Clark in the same lineup!

7 of our 8 starters were previous or would be gold glovers, including 4 who won that season.

2 20-game winners.

The Kevin Rogers, Mike Jackson, Rod Beck, lights out bullpen.

The MVP

John Patterson homer against Atlanta.

103 wins.

The absolute and complete annihilation of my heart.

Bonds stands alone.

by nostocksjustbonds on Sep 26, 2007 1:36 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I was fresh out of college and unemployed that whole summer.  That pennant race was my life.

The day after that fateful game, I started my new job - which I still have.

Bochy: grounded until he stops hitting and running with slow runners and crappy hitters

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Sep 26, 2007 1:51 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I was 10 years old that year and was among the thousands of fans waiting for the team at SFO.  I was front and center of the crowd and got my picture in the Chronicle the next day and showed off to all my friends at school.  '93 was the best Giants team I have witnessed and that year will always stick out in my mind as one of the best of my childhood despite the end result.
Can't w8 for '08!

by southcitysteve on Sep 26, 2007 2:04 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
What a year although Will Clark was just so awful that season it was painful.

As amazing as that 93 team was, I still think our 2000 team was the bigger disappointment.

by slcgiant on Sep 26, 2007 3:38 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I hope our new guys can be as awful as the Thrill was that year.
Barry Bombs gear | comics | Durham? I hardly know 'im!

by Natto on Sep 26, 2007 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
Although I don't expect a whole lot out of most of our prospects a 93 Will Clark won't get us very far.

.283/.367/.432 - Will Clark (93)

.298/.351/.437 - Randy Winn (07)

Will seriously underperformed in 93 relative to his career averages.  I remember being seriously underwhelmed by his effort and production.

by slcgiant on Sep 26, 2007 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
And yet, Randy Winn was the 2nd best hitter on the team this year. Plugging his 93 season in place of 07 Ryan Klesko would be a big upgrade.
SJ Giants, 2007 Cal League champs! Couldn't have done it without the All-Father.

by EliminateMe on Sep 27, 2007 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
Better yet, plug the 93 Klesko in.  He was only 22 but his next 9 years were pretty solid.  

by slcgiant on Sep 27, 2007 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I was three.

my most exciting Giants moment was clinching the division in '02 when I was 12.  I still have my towel.

:(

Pedro Feliz: Marginally better this year.

by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Sep 26, 2007 5:33 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I remember that race well. Gearing up for my freshman year at college back east. My father and I drove cross-country, stopping to take in minor league games along the way. Heck, we even managed a Cubs game where we walked right up at game time and bought seats three rows behind the visitors dugout (and then ate White Castle burgers after).

Best part of it was the nights driving, trying to find sports/talk radio that would give updates on the Braves and Giants games. We got lucky the further east we went. Dipped down into the south and got some Braves broadcasts. Cheered lustily for the opposing team.

And then that last game of the season. I skipped Japanese class to watch it in the campus center. My roommates stopped by to heckle me even though they were posh squash/crew dorks who could've cared less about baseball.

Then the loss. Broken heart. But ah, the memories.

Noonan. Nooooonan!

by Giant Fan in Singapore on Sep 26, 2007 7:02 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: The Last Real Race...
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I faked asleep that year (we had a tv in my room) then got up to watch the end of games with the volume down, my brother was pissed. For day games it was a walkman with an earbud strung through my long sleeve shirt. I didn't care if it was 100 degrees, I was listening. I even told one girl I would be her boyfriend if she promised not to tell. So I "dated" Lindsay Davis until october.

I was 10 years old. Dragged to the Palo Alto shopping center for a day with shopping with "mom".  I had the radio glued to my ear. Pregame, I was on the edge of my seat, and lo an behold "Tickets will be available at Giants dugout stores for the possible playoff between the Braves and Giants!" There happened to be a dugout store nearby, I rushed over to my mom. I traded everything and I mean everything to convince her to get those tickets. Chores for a month, my allowance for 6 months, I don't care, just let me go! After about an hour, she relented, knowing how many reports from teachers I had received about allegations of radio espionage. I think she also kind of knew I stayed up to watch the games (being found passed out looking at the tv and it mysteriously off in the morning).

Then the game started. And well, we all know the rest. We returned the tickets of course, but I'll never forget how crushed I was. As we returned the tickets I cried. The lady behind the counter asked whats wrong?

We lost.

I'll never forget that day, what I was willing to trade (and well, when you're 10, trade is really all you have) for a chance to go to that game. I'll never forget Will Clark, who was my hero, Bonds, Williams, Thompson, Black, all those guys. I miss when the Giants were fun to watch, when they had heart, when they had passion, when baseball was more than individual accomplishments. Maybe we can return to that, I dunno, but that story sure brings back a lot of memories. . .  

For WilltheThrill, this is Jon Miller saying goodnight. . . .

by WilltheThrill on Sep 27, 2007 11:11 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

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