Madison Bumgarner isn't on the Giants, and (whispers) that's a good thing
Nobody tell him I said that
Madison Bumgarner felt disrespected by the Giants, and you can understand why. He watched Tim Lincecum, who had been bad for two years, get a two year contract for a lot of money. Then he watched Matt Cain get a 5 year contract for even more money. Hunter Pence? 5 year contract, lots of money. There was a pattern, and it involved giving Giants stars big contracts for lots of money.
When it was Madison Bumgarner’s turn, he did not get a big contract for lots of money.
You can absolutely see this from the Giants’ point of view, by the way. Because how did those contracts turn out? Not great, Bob. Lincecum was marginally less bad over those two years than he had been during the previous two years, but he was still bad. Cain didn’t have a good season after 2012. Pence’s contract comprised one very good year, two years where he was good-but-often-injured, and two years where he was bad. The team won a World Series during the early years of Cain and Pence’s deals, so no regrets, but looking forward, those aren’t exactly optimal outcomes.
Regardless of all that, though, Bumgarner could not have been happy that he didn’t get the same treatment. None of those other guys delivered a World Series title by himself. None of them became known as the best postseason pitcher of his generation. None of them risked bodily harm to bravely slay a rogue dirt bike intent on world domination. Why not him? Why not Madison?
Well, we’re finding that out now, aren’t we?
In 9 starts last year, Bumgarner went 41.2 innings with a 6.48 ERA and peripherals that were somehow even worse. Bumgarner made his second start of 2021 yesterday, and went 5 innings, giving up 5 runs, an improvement from his first start, when he gave up 6 runs in 4 innings. He’s been bad since he signed with Arizona, and you have to imagine that the Giants are perfectly happy with their decision after the 2019 season to only extend a cursory offer to Bumgarner that he was sure to reject.
It’s tempting to attribute this all to strategy, to a front office that ensmartened itself by hiring Farhan Zaidi, but that’s mostly not the case. The original plan was to work on an extension in 2017, but that got derailed by Bumgarner’s dirt bike accident. That was an irresponsible and reckless way for him to lose half his season, and it cause the front office to look at him a little more warily. The next season, he was hit by a line drive on the last day of Spring Training and broke his finger, so extension talks were again tabled until he came back; when he did, he had his worst season as a Giant. The next year was 2019, Farhan Zaidi’s first season with the Giants, and he sure wasn’t going to give out any long-term contracts immediately, so once more no Bumgarner extension, and he became a free agent after the season.
It was, essentially, pure luck that kept the Giants from coming to an agreement with Bumgarner. When Bobby Evans was in charge, injuries prevented the opportunity to come to a deal; Farhan came to San Francisco with a profound aversion to giving out long-term deals (other than for a Bryce Harper-type talent, such as Bryce Harper). Combine those factors, and it never happened.
Would it have been better if they had come to a deal? It’s hard to see how: the Giants are not likely to make the playoffs this year, so they have no need for their Playoff Ace, and since pitchers tend to decline every year of their contracts, it’s likely he’ll be less valuable in 2024 than he is this year, and folks, he has not been valuable this year.
There’s still the injury question, of course. Maybe the Giants medical staff, much more familiar with Bumgarner than the Diamondbacks’ corps, would have been able to help him avoid the back strain he suffered in 2020. Maybe his comfort in San Francisco would have helped him be the pitcher he was in 2014 or 2016, instead of the guy who’s been getting shelled since 2020. Maybe the biomechanics people the Giants employ would have found something in Bumgarner’s delivery and he would have had a career renaissance. We’ll never know.
It’s not likely, though. What’s more likely is that like Cain, Bumgarner would have faded no matter what. That his body would have still started to break down the tiniest amount, just enough to make him a much worse MLB pitcher but not enough to keep him on the phantom IL through 2024. That he’s just a person, doing his best, and it wouldn’t have been good enough anymore.
Regardless of any hypotheticals, Bumgarner is now Arizona’s problem. In a way, it’s sad. He’s not what he once was, and like so many athletes he has to find a way through that fact. It’s also a relief, though: finally, someone else has to deal wth a fading ex-Giants star. Still, maybe Bumgarner deserved several more years of adoring crowds cheering for him no matter what. He certainly earned that in the 2014 World Series.
But like Clint Eastwood once said, deserve’s got nothing to do with it. He went his way; the Giants went theirs. He’ll get cheered in San Francisco again, ecstatic fans letting him know how much his time there meant to them. He’ll doff his cap in genuine appreciation.
Then he’ll give up 3 runs in 4 innings and be removed from the game. It happens. And there will be a large number of those fans in the stands who are thinking, At least he’s not giving up runs as a Giant. It’ll be a horrible thought, but understandable. We’ve all been burned before. It’s nice that it won’t happen this time, even if there’s some sadness mixed in there too.