McCovey Chronicles Roundtable: Hitter GIFs

In the first edition of the McCovey Chronicles Roundtable, I demanded the staff pitch ideas for a “Turn Ahead The Clock” Night at AT&T Park and in the second edition (which posted earlier today) we all made our predictions for the 2nd half of the season.

Prompt: This time around, I asked everybody to propose a GIF for each player on the roster — the one that best represents who they are or what they’re all about — since GIFs are the best way to converse on social media.

Wait, Bochy! Wait! To make it up to you, here’s a Willie Mays .gif

That better?

Great, so, here we go. We’ll get to the pitchers in the next one. For now, we’re focusing on the lineup. Remember, you can use these for when you want to get social with your Giants fandom, as these are now by law the official GIF for each player.

Participants: Bryan, Sami, Kenny, Doug, Brady, and Carmen

Brandon Belt

Bryan Murphy, Managing Editor:

This gif covers every part of Brandon Belt’s persona. There’s a goofy head-on charm to it, and then the camera zooms in like a farcical comedy and then that head tilt indicates that the giraffe has been in on the joke the whole time, exactly as Brandon Belt has done throughout his career.

Buster Posey

Sami Higgins, Deputy Editor:

The McCoven would revolt if we didn’t use this one. They’ve got the torchforks at the ready.

Brandon Crawford

Sami Higgins, Deputy Editor:

Though there is a ton going on in this gif, Crawford steals the show with his magnificent hair. As per usual.

Joe Panik

Sami Higgins, Deputy Editor:

Because this is the first thing you think of when you hear Joe Panik’s name.

Evan Longoria

Bryan Murphy, Managing Editor:

Very much like his career with the Giants, it feels like he’ll just be passing by; but before he goes, he’s going to make the most out of the experience by being around as much winning as possible. You can’t purge Tampa Bay in just a half season.

Andrew McCutchen

Carmen Kiew, Social Media Manager:

Even though this is McCutchen in a pirates uniform, his goofy smile and attitude are his trademarks (other than, you know, being a franchise player, his late dreadlocks, and his ability to mash a baseball in his career)

Gregor Blanco

Hi, Bryan here. Look, Blanco is on this list because I started this roundtable idea way back when he was still on the active roster, so it’s partly my fault that the inclusion looks sort of silly right now — BUT, he’s still with the organization and he’s Gregor Blanco. He belongs here even if he’s in Triple-A.

Doug Bruzzone, Professional Dougologist:

Look, the perfect game catch is The Answer here, but I would also like to point out how damn dapper he looked way back when in this commercial:

Gorkys Hernandez

Kenny Kelly, Staff Writer:

Because it kind of looks like he’s saying, “GORKYS!”

Hunter Pence

The Athletic’s Brady Klopfer:

Because this is Hunter Pence, and this is why we love Hunter Pence.

Alen Hanson

Bryan Murphy, Managing Editor:

Inspired by this picture, of course —

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

I think the gif should be used even when he hits home runs.

Kelby Tomlinson

Brady Klopfer of The Athletic:

Glasses make everything cooler, and Kelby Tomlinson has the that specs appeal.

Nick Hundley

Bryan Murphy, Managing Editor:

Only 90s kids will get this reference?

Pablo Sandoval

Bryan Murphy, Managing Editor:

An oldie but a goodie, and I think it really says it all. Pablo Sandoval’s relationship with his bat is one of those untold stories of baseball that we might not learn more about —

Yeah, yeah, okay, fine. Here’s the Verlander gif:

Chase d’Arnaud, Austin Slater, and Steven Duggar haven’t had enough playing time to get gifs of their own — although, thanks to d’Arnaud’s penchant for video editing, I’m tempted to nickname him Nightcrawler and use a Jake Gyllenhaal gif from that movie — but you’re welcome to come up with some in the comments below.

Remember, these are supposed to be for fun and used only for the purposes of good, not evil. Tweet them out whenever something good happens in the game. Text them to your friends who have .gif-viewing capabilities on their phone of choice.