SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants won 107 games, a franchise record, by leaning on innovative methods of roster construction, coaching and in-game management. But after his team celebrated a shocking NL West title, manager Gabe Kapler went old school.
Kapler credited his players for showing toughness and grit, and for having the vision for making the NL West title the goal when nobody around the game thought they could compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
Here's Kapler's postgame speech on the field at Oracle Park following the Giants' 11-4 win over the Padres:
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"We all knew what the projections were and what the industry thought of us as a club. There were some intangibles that those viewpoints and those projections failed to take into consideration. The first intangible is just toughness. We had so many points during this season where it would have been easy for us to quit and we never did. We battled back.
"Another intangible it didn't account for is grit. A lot of people in this group got a little bit beat up this season. We had some injuries. We had some guys who were struggling for long periods of time, and they just got back to work every single day. They stuck with their process, they got stronger, and they came back better, and because of that we're standing where we are today.
"The final intangible and probably the most important one is vision. At the outset of spring training I was thinking about setting expectations for this group, what we could come to expect for this season. I knew we had a lot of talent. But I wasn't sure. We have some veteran players who said we want to win the National League West. So at that point, this entire group surrounded that vision and made it a goal. We never came off that goal, and that's why I feel that pride today in this group. I'm so grateful to each and every one of you and everyone here who supported us this evening. Thank you."
Kapler and the Giants now will await the winner of the National League wild-card game between the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, which will take place Wednesday in Los Angeles.
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The Giants will host either the Dodgers or Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, Oct. 8.