Before I pay tribute to the San Francisco Giants, let us revel once more in the beautiful following phrase:

- 2010 San Francisco Giants: World Series Champions. -

This may be the greatest phrase I have ever read, written, or spoken.

And with that, I want to thank everyone associated with the Giants. From the youngest of fans to those who paved the way all the way back in New York.

My story is not one of the longest tenure or most unique scenario. While I loved the 49ers around 5 years old (1989), it wasn't until I was 9 years old (in 1993) when I caught the most severe case of "Giants Fever." I have yet (and never will) become immune to this fever. I am an insatiable 3rd generation Giants fan, and I bleed as much orange and black as I do 49ers red & gold. Back in grade school I would watch every game I possibly could. Any game I couldn't watch on TV I would listen to on the radio. I would intently read the local sports page (Sacramento Bee) every day, and by the end of that season I felt like I had been both a baseball and Giants fan for decades. Who needed to do homework when you could obsess with baseball? I couldn't miss a pitch, and I had to watch every move by my hero Matt Williams.

And with that, I owe as much to Peter McGowan as any Giants fan. He truly saved this franchise from leaving, and I never would have had to opportunity to catch the fever without what he was able to do for this franchise. I suppose you could say I am a child of that re-born '93 team. I was born a Giants fan with Clark, Williams, Thompson, Burkett, Swift, Beck, Bonds, and Baker.

And how fitting is this 2010 team? We all suffered and celebrated our wondrous "torture." For me, that torture started at the end of 1993. We all knew that was an amazing team. Hell, you could argue it was the best team in baseball that season, yet something was missing: A playoff berth. For many people, this continued the long-term struggles from an up and down franchise that could get so close only to have the rug ripped from beneath their feet (let alone fear of having the entire franchise ripped from their city). But for this kid, 1993 lit a ravenous fire. My blood boiled, and it boiled pure orange and black.

And for me the rest is history. I love this franchise like none other. The depth of history, the flood of Hall of Fame individuals, the historic teams, the tremendous stories that span the Giants franchise back to the 19th century, the best-in-baseball broadcasters, and every exciting moment will always be embroidered in my mind, heart, and spirit.

This 2010 team means everything to me, from the aforementioned 1993 squad to the 1997 squad or the 2002 heartbreak to the post-Bonds struggles. And yet I can only imagine what it means to the longest tenured fans. Those that had the fever to date back from 1989 to the miserable '70's, or 1962, and especially those that endured the move from New York to San Francisco.

Not only am I paying homage to the Giants, but to all of you fellow fans. For my money, we are the best fan base in all of baseball (no disrespect to the others, because there are many great baseball fans). I am so happy to share this with you guys and with my family. If you bleed orange and black, it doesn't matter if you are 8 or 80, black, white, brown, yellow, or red. It doesn't matter if you're a bay area native or from Sacramento, Stockton, Chico, Reno, southern California or another region entirely: Our love of the orange and black makes us one.

I love all of you guys, and I really, truly love the San Francisco Giants. I'm not one to cry at all, but I have shed tears dozens of times since Brian Wilson's final pitch of the World Series. This team has shattered my hard exterior and affected me at the deepest level.

To the Giants: Thank you for this amazing experience. I will always remember, and I will share the stories of this team for decades to come. Torture never felt so good.

Behind the jump is the 40-man roster and the coaching staff. Thanks to every single one of you.

(Since the front office list is behemoth, I will simply thank Bill Neukom, Larry Baer, and Brian Sabean individually).

San Francisco Giants 40-Man Roster

#	Pitchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
41	Jeremy Affeldt	L-L	6'5"	225	Jun 6, 1979
40	Madison Bumgarner	R-L	6'4"	215	Aug 1, 1989
18	Matt Cain	R-R	6'3"	245	Oct 1, 1984
46	Santiago Casilla	R-R	6'0"	200	Jul 25, 1980
43	Alex Hinshaw *	L-L	6'4"	175	Oct 31, 1982
60	Waldis Joaquin *	R-R	6'2"	235	Dec 25, 1986
55	Tim Lincecum	L-R	5'11"	170	Jun 15, 1984
49	Javier Lopez	L-L	6'4"	225	Jul 11, 1977
59	Guillermo Mota	R-R	6'5"	235	Jul 25, 1973
52	Ramon Ramirez	R-R	5'11"	190	Aug 31, 1981
47	Chris Ray *	R-R	6'3"	210	Jan 12, 1982
54	Sergio Romo	R-R	5'11"	190	Mar 4, 1983
45	Dan Runzler *	L-L	6'4"	230	Mar 30, 1985
57	Jonathan Sanchez	L-L	6'2"	190	Nov 19, 1982
67	Henry Sosa *	R-R	6'2"	195	Jul 28, 1985
38	Brian Wilson	R-R	6'1"	195	Mar 16, 1982
75	Barry Zito *	L-L	6'4"	215	May 13, 1978
#	Catchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
28	Buster Posey	R-R	6'1"	205	Mar 27, 1987
22	Eli Whiteside	R-R	6'2"	215	Oct 22, 1979
#	Infielders	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
2	Emmanuel Burriss *	S-R	6'0"	190	Jan 17, 1985
14	Mike Fontenot	L-R	5'8"	170	Jun 9, 1980
50	Conor Gillaspie *	L-R	6'1"	200	Jul 18, 1987
17	Aubrey Huff	L-R	6'4"	230	Dec 20, 1976
10	Travis Ishikawa	L-L	6'3"	225	Sep 24, 1983
35	Brett Pill *	R-R	6'4"	210	Sep 9, 1984
16	Edgar Renteria	R-R	6'1"	200	Aug 7, 1975
29	Ryan Rohlinger *	R-R	6'1"	195	Oct 7, 1983
21	Freddy Sanchez	R-R	5'10"	190	Dec 21, 1977
48	Pablo Sandoval	S-R	5'11"	245	Aug 11, 1986
5	Juan Uribe	R-R	6'0"	230	Mar 22, 1979
#	Outfielders	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
9	Pat Burrell	R-R	6'4"	235	Oct 10, 1976
7	Mark DeRosa 60-day DL **	R-R	6'1"	205	Feb 26, 1975
34	Darren Ford *	R-R	5'11"	195	Oct 1, 1985
6	Jose Guillen *	R-R	6'0"	215	May 17, 1976
62	Francisco Peguero *	R-R	6'0"	190	Jun 1, 1988
13	Cody Ross	R-L	5'10"	195	Dec 23, 1980
33	Aaron Rowand	R-R	6'0"	220	Aug 29, 1977
12	Nate Schierholtz	L-R	6'2"	215	Feb 15, 1984
56	Andres Torres	S-R	5'10"	190	Jan 26, 1978
8	Eugenio Velez *	S-R	6'1"	170	May 16, 1982

• * Not on Active Roster
• ** Not on 40-Man Roster

San Francisco Giants Coaching Staff