If you've been around these parts for a while, you'll know that I have a John Bowker fetish. If you're new here, I have a confession to make: I have a John Bowker fetish. For whatever reason, he was my pet non-prospect, the guy I'd root for blindly, long past the point it made sense. If you want some giggles, read my rant at the Bowker-for-Javier Lopez deal. Other than the pair of championships, I'm not sure what that deal really did for the Giants. I was right to complain.
After kicking around with the Pirates and Phillies, Bowker went to Japan. I was pretty sure he'd hit .billion/.squillion/.mmmph and get right back on a plane to join a savvy major-league team before the 2013 season. Alas, he hit .196/.267/.310 in 184 at-bats, which ... probably isn't going to get him a long-term deal from a major-league team. There wasn't going to be a we-were-so-wrong epiphany, with 25 different teams pleading please come back, John Bowker, we're so sorry, how could we have been so wrong?
But there's a happy end to this story. The video up there is fun to watch, and it's relevant to your interests. Well, mine, at least. John Bowker is the Cody Ross of the Giants. The Yomiuri Giants, that is.
Bowker once more made Yoshikawa pay for a bad pitch. The California native, who was used sparingly by the Giants this season, opened the scoring in the second with a two-run homer on a fastball down the pipe. In Game 1, Bowker homered off Yoshikawa on a high slider with two men on to help power an 8-1 Giants rout.
"I know he's got a good fastball from our scouting reports," said Bowker, who had been deactivated for Game 4.Bowker hit two dingers in the series, and he was named one of the MVPs of the series. He finally helped the Giants win a championship, just like I always told you. He's helped the Giants win three if you include the Javier Lopez deal!
So congratulations, John Bowker. After a miserable season, you did that postseason thing that people do, and you'll be a name that fans remember for decades. JUST LIKE I PREDICTED. Kind of.
Also, before you got excited that the Giants won in Japan, too, there is some additional context:
In an interesting coincidence, the San Francisco Giants won this year's World Series, marking the first time the two clubs, which share the same colors and nickname — though little else as Yomiuri identifies more with the New York Yankees — won their respective championships in the same season.Gross.