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The 2020 MLB postseason is officially underway.
It’s a weird one, with 16 teams, four rounds, neutral locations starting next week, and 28-man rosters.
The San Francisco Giants didn’t make the demon postseason, but they are well represented by the Atlanta Braves other teams in the fold.
Want to watch some old friends? Here are your options.
American League
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#1 Tampa Bay Rays
None.
#2 Oakland Athletics
RHP — Yusmeiro Petit
Petit remains one of the most under-appreciated Giants. He pitched four seasons, won two championships, had a 3.66 ERA, allowed fewer than two walks per nine innings, set an MLB record for consecutive outs, and came one batter away from a perfect game despite primarily being a reliever.
#3 Minnesota Twins
INF — Ehire Adrianza
RHP — Sergio Romo
It’s amazing that Romo is still pitching, considering that he called J.T. Snow and Rich Aurilia his teammates in his debut season (the former admittedly on his ceremonial one-day contract, but hey ... it all looks the same in the history books). He remains one of the most beloved former Giants, and is now in his 13th season after being drafted in the 28th round.
And Adrianza has quietly turned himself into a quality backup infielder, which is awesome.
#4 Cleveland
None.
#5 New York Yankees
None.
#6 Houston Astros
None.
#7 Chicago White Sox
None, but 2020 Minor League signee Yolmer Sanchez is there.
#8 Toronto Blue Jays
INF — Joe Panik
Panik hasn’t been great this season, but he’s been significantly better than he was over the last two years, and looks like he’ll stick around the Majors. That’s great to see.
National League
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#1 Los Angeles Dodgers
None, thank goodness.
#2 Atlanta Braves
INF — Pablo Sandoval
OF — Adam Duvall
INF — Charlie Culberson
RHP — Mark Melancon
LHP — Will Smith
If your criteria for who to root for in the postseason is the team with the most former Giants, then root for Atlanta. And reminisce about those 23 sweet at bats from Culberson from eight years ago as you do so.
Pablo Sandoval forever.
#3 Chicago Cubs
None, but like the other Chicago team, they have a 2020 Minor League signee in Billy Hamilton.
#4 San Diego Padres
RHP — Pierce Johnson
LHP — Drew Pomeranz
I think it’s safe to say that the Giants could have benefitted from either of those two being in their bullpen this year.
#5 St. Louis Cardinals
None.
#6 Miami Marlins
None, though I had to double check to see whether Matt Joyce was in the Justin Smoak camp of “took a few at bats before the Giants got rid of him,” rather than the actual camp he was in, which was getting dumped before ever putting on a Giants jersey.
#7 Cincinnati Reds
None.
#8 Milwaukee Brewers
None, probably. At the time of writing this, the Brewers had yet to release their postseason roster. They have two former Giants on their 40-man roster: right-handed pitchers Ray Black and Phil Bickford. But those two have combined to pitch four innings, so I’m guessing they didn’t make the cut. And I just remembered that Bickford never actually pitched for the Giants, but I’m leaving that anecdote in there so that we can all take a moment to remember him anyway.
And there you have it: your 2020 no-longer Giants, so you can root for Giants when there are no Giants.