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Good morning, baseball fans! If you are reading this on Wednesday, it is the 10-year anniversary of the Barry Zito Game, also known as Game 5 of the 2012 National League Championship Series in which the San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals.
We all remember that harrowing postseason, when the Giants had their backs against the wall and facing elimination in both the Division and Championship Series, putting up a truly miraculous comeback in each before sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
Game 5 was a turning point that I’ll always remember. My dad came to visit me the day of that game, and when the Giants won, I told him he could not leave until they lost a game. They didn’t lose another game.
And it was all thanks to Barry Zito. Just as it had to be. As Grant Brisbee wrote at the time:
A 1-0 nerve-wracker behind Matt Cain would have sucked the juices out of you like a spider. A 5-0 win behind Vogelsong would have made you worry about how the rotation set up for the rest of the series. You know, because it would mean an impending Zito start, and those things are spooky. A 12-0 blowout would have been fun, but that creepy little voice in your head would have whispered “The Giants should be saaaaving these runs for Sunday,” even if that’s not how the world really works.
Instead, it was Barry Zito on both ends, with the season on the line. Confusing the Cardinals with his curveball and bunting skills. Just like we all expected.
Programming note: I’ll be on vacation for the next week and change, so Brady will be taking over the BPs until next Friday. Have a great week, good luck to your non-Giants playoff team preference, and I’ll see you all soon!
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