SAN FRANCISCO – Giants manager Bruce Bochy made a statement in support of 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Bochy wore a red 49ers cap in the dugout before the Giants' series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, a day after Smith said he'd been fined $15,000 last season by the NFL for sporting a Giants hat after games – though the fine was later dropped.
"That's why I'm wearing this hat," Bochy said. "We're having fun with this. It's our way of supporting him for supporting us. We're all 49er fans here. This is in honor of Alex. I'm glad he didn't have to pay the fine. That's good news."
Bochy had seen Smith in the Giants hat and sees Smith, the No. 1 overall draft pick from 2005, when he attends games at AT&T Park to support the Giants.
"I've seen him out here, and I was aware he was wearing the Giants hat," Bochy said. "That's pretty neat. That's why I'm wearing this. We appreciate their support."
Smith and the reigning NFC West champion 49ers (2-0) play Sunday at Minnesota. The Giants are closing in on their second National League West title in three years after winning the World Series in 2010. So San Francisco's teams are getting plenty of attention these days.
Bochy and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh have exchanged messages, too. Bochy hopes to meet Harbaugh and attend a practice after the baseball season.
"I'm a big 49ers fan," Bochy said. "Since I've been here, I've always followed them. What a great club they are. Great team, tremendous defense, coach Jim Harbaugh and the quarterback. They're solid. Tremendous year last year and they're going to have another great year this year."
Walking through the locker room at the 49ers' headquarters in Santa Clara, Smith was told about Bochy's hat.
He smiled and said: "Oh, yeah, sweet. Five's the magic number, right?"
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Janie McCauley
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.