SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants will take the field next spring with a new shortstop and possibly a new co-ace. There will be other fresh faces after Buster Posey's first offseason in charge, and they're hopeful that their style of play is more entertaining and leads to a few more wins.
But there will also be plenty of changes that most fans never see, including the simple act of just replacing what's on the walls. It was noticeable under the previous regime that many of the references to the three championship teams were stripped from the clubhouse, but Posey and Bob Melvin believe strongly in honoring the franchise's history, and the plan is to do a better job of celebrating those highs.
That won't just be limited to the walls of the clubhouse and ballpark, though. One of the best players in Giants history is now leading the baseball operations department and he's hopeful that a few former teammates join him in Scottsdale next spring and make themselves at home at Oracle Park.
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Posey said last week that he already has talked to some of the big names, although it won't be immediate for everyone. The Giants know that Brandon Crawford wants to take some time away from the game after officially announcing his retirement, but Posey recently talked to Madison Bumgarner about returning in some role.
"I talked to Bum some. I don't know if I should say it was surprising on my end that he's showing a willingness -- I think I'm just happy. I'm happy that a guy like him wants to possibly give back to a younger generation of players," Posey said on a recent "Giants Talk" episode. "And I just think that again, you talk about somebody that's been through the fire and somebody that is just the ultimate competitor and I think would just have a wealth of knowledge to share with young pitchers. And also it's fun when you're a player when you get to see these guys come in the clubhouse.
"We want to create something where when you come into spring training or even in the big leagues, you walk in and see Will Clark or Barry Bonds in the clubhouse (and) it's fun. Being in the big leagues should be fun, and I think that's part of it."
While Posey has all of the right cell phone numbers, the process actually started last year when Melvin returned to his former organization. The manager once walked into the clubhouse as a player and saw that guest instructors Willie Mays and Willie McCovey had lockers on either side of his, and in his first year in charge he tried to encourage former Giants to visit the team in the spring and during the season. Clark and Bonds, in particular, were much more visible last year.
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It wasn't long ago that Mays, McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry and others would visit Scottsdale every spring to sit with big leaguers and visit minor league camp. Posey is hopeful that his generation can do something similar, although he's not quite sure yet about how that will look. He said his main goal is to just ask his former teammates how they would like to stay involved and go from there.
During most of Posey's career, it was normal for the Giants to not only bring their Hall of Famers in, but also recently retired stars who would spend four or five days in camp. Posey didn't really understand how meaningful that was until later in life.
"When you can take a minute and stop and think, 'These are some of the greatest players that have ever donned a Major League uniform, let alone a San Francisco Giants uniform, and they're willing to sit down with me and just talk baseball or sit and do a coffee side chat in the clubhouse.'" he said. "I think the more that time goes along, you appreciate it more. Maybe you get something from it, maybe you don't, but it's just such a cool thing to be able to spend time with great baseball players."
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