McCovey can't escape '62 Series line drive
SAN FRANCISCO – Last Tuesday marked 50 years since Willie McCovey's ninth-inning line drive found the glove of the New York Yankees' Bobby Richardson for the final out of Game 7 of the 1962 World Series, ending the Giants' bid for their first championship in San Francisco.
And yet, McCovey said before the Giants and Detroit Tigers played in Game 1 of this year's Fall Classic, "Somebody always brings it up. Almost daily."
The city's title drought, of course, ended in 2010, and now the Giants are vying for their second in three years. Before Wednesday's game, the Giants brought some of their Hall of Famers – McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays and Gaylord Perry – out for the ceremonial first pitch, with Perry, the former pitcher, delivering the ball to current reliever Sergio Romo behind the plate.
Earlier, on the field, McCovey mused about the World Series returning to San Francisco.
"We're getting kind of spoiled," he said with a chuckle. "This is two in three years. People don't realize how hard it is to get here."
Scutaro has a fan in Frank Thomas
As Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro hit the field for pregame warmups, one of the first people he saw was Frank Thomas, the former slugging first baseman and designated hitter. Scutaro made a beeline for Thomas before they hugged and chatted briefly before the Giant jogged out to stretch.
Thomas, who formally announced his retirement in 2010 with 521 career home runs in 19 seasons, and Scutaro were teammates on the 2006 A's, who lost to the Tigers in the American League Championship Series. Thomas recalled Scutaro, a sparkplug for the Giants in the clubhouse and lineup, having the same effect in Oakland.
"One of my favorite teammates ever," Thomas said. "Lot of fun, lot of energy at the ballpark every day. He keeps the games loose."
What was Buck doing, delivering a speech?
Fox announcer Joe Buck hosted the network's pregame show standing behind a podium located in foul territory along the third-base line, a setup that prompted some snarky responses on Twitter.
From actor Jeff Daniels, @Jeff_Daniels: "Okay. I'm sorry, but Joe Buck is on the field behind a podium on a platform like he's the Keynote Speaker at your local Rotary Club."
And sportswriter Joe Posnanski, @JPosnanski: "Holy cow, is Joe Buck giving a graduation speech?"
Et cetera
In the category of odd triumvirates, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and recording artist MC Hammer were shown standing together in a suite and waving orange rally rags on the video monitor in center field in the middle of the second inning.
• Former Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel delivered the traditional pregame announcement of "Let's play ball!"
– Matt Kawahara
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