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So I was looking at a picture from Madison Bumgarner's wedding that features both oral sex innuendo and a your/you're misspelling, thinking about how much I love Madison Bumgarner, and I realized I didn't want to write about the Padres again. This turned into assorted notes and memories about Bumgarner because I wanted to write about him, but I'm not really interested in saying anything other than "Madison Bumgarner is one of my favorite baseball players."
Do you have a fact or anecdote or piece of miscellany about Madison Bumgarner? Share it in the comments of McCoveyChronicles.com on the World Wide Web, where the fan gets a voice!
1. The draft thread remains one of my favorites in site history
It's somewhere between a cliché and a site meme, but every time it's posted, there's someone who remarks how they've never read it. Here you go.
WE TOOK (redacted) BUMGARNER WITH PORCELLO, AUMONT, MILLS AND HEYWARD ON THE BOARD? CAN WE FIRE SABEAN ALREADY?
Haaaaaaa. My Beau Mills fetish was strong, but I quickly wised up. Don't lump me in with the haters. Don't lump me in with the haters!
Also, it's almost like the Giants were better at scouting than people on the Internet, but I think we should wait a few years before moving that from suspicion to fact.
2. He was the happy ending to a familiar tale of woe
No one comes back from a velocity implosion clean on the other side. Especially, especially young pitchers. They're always hurt. It's like the opposite of lupus on House; it's always arm problems. Bumgarner struggled through command/control problems and his fastball was in the high-80s in 2009. There were a couple of starts after he was called up when he couldn't crack 90, and everyone freaked out. If you would have asked me then, I would have predicted that he wouldn't allow an earned run in the World Series, but only because I didn't think he or his team would be within 300 feet of a World Series.
Then he was great.
Remember that, Mark Appel fans. It can turn out okay.
As long as we're feeling nostalgic, here's the "Madison Bumgarner getting called up because Tim Lincecum is hurt" thread. That was an interesting day. And here's the post-game thread for his first start. That was five years ago, and I barely even recognize the writing style. I want to punch that kid in the nose and make him grammar better.
3. This sentence exists
When he lived for a time with teammate Jeremy Affeldt he practiced roping Affeldt's patio furniture.
4. He inspired this amazing YouTube video
So, so earnest and genuine. So odd. A GIFt for you:

I don't really know what it means, either, but I like it. It seems like good luck. Mat Latos wouldn't inspire a GIF like that. Mat Latos reminds me of a taller Ramsay Snow, now that you mention it.
5. Snot rockets
This is like the IMDB of snot rockets. It will consume the rest of your day. I can't believe I hadn't linked to it before.
Pretty sure #6 would be "he's good" and #7 would be "2010." Probably go on a limb and use "2012" for #8. You get the idea. Madison Bumgarner's gonna pitch again real soon. Take a few minutes and think happy thoughts.