SAN FRANCISCO -- Nobody will ever top what Madison Bumgarner accomplished in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, although in an odd way, what Jeremy Affeldt did that night was maybe nearly as impressive.
Affeldt had a bubble behind one eye because of medication he was taking, and during that postseason run he at times had a hard time seeing. When he took the mound in the second inning at Kauffman Stadium he saw two different Buster Poseys, one standing in front of the other. The situation was made even worse by Kansas City Royals fans waving white flags in the seats behind the plate.
After getting out of the second inning, Affeldt went down to the dugout tunnel to give his eyes a break from the lights and try some additional eye drops. Posey walked up and asked if he was OK.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"Man, I can't see," Affeldt told him. "He's like, 'What? You can't see?' I'm like, 'Well, I can, I'm just seeing two of you and I'm seeing the crowd. I'm having a hard time figuring out which one is you.'"
On this week's Giants Talk Podcast, Affeldt recalled how Posey insisted that they go and tell manager Bruce Bochy that he had to make a pitching change.
"I'm like, "You go and tell that man right there to take me out of the game, you're going to get a defibrillator,'" Affeldt said.
With an assist from Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik, Affeldt and Posey made it through the third and the fourth. After that, it was Bumgarner time, and the Giants were soon champions for a third time in five years.
San Francisco Giants
That memorable Affeldt outing ended up being his last in a postseason, and because Bumgarner kept Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla from being needed that night, it put the finishing touches on an incredible run by the Core Four.
On Saturday, Affeldt, Romo, Casilla and Javier Lopez will go on the organization's Wall of Fame, in large part because of how historically dominant they were as a group for three title runs.
During the 2010, 2012 and 2014 postseasons, each of them appeared at least 23 times, and only Romo -- the only one of the four to throw the final pitch of a season -- had an ERA above 1.00. Combined, the Core Four had a 1.14 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 78 2/3 innings with 70 strikeouts to 18 walks. They faced 296 batters and allowed just two home runs.
Bochy will go to the Hall of Fame one day because of the way he managed bullpens, but he admits he often had a leg up on the manager on the other side. With the Core Four, he had a perfect combination that could effectively end games as soon as he pulled his starters.
Affeldt, Casilla, Lopez and Romo appeared in the same postseason game nine times. The Giants lost just one of them -- Game 3 of the 2014 World Series -- and the relievers didn't even allow a run that night.
Romo was the only homegrown member of the group, but with shrewd signings and trades, Brian Sabean and his front office put together a foursome that fit together perfectly, first in front of closer Brian Wilson and then later without him.
Casilla was the power right-hander and Romo was the gutsy slider specialist, and both at times had extended runs as Bochy's closer. Lopez was one of the best left-handed specialists of his generation. Affeldt was the glue, capable of comfortably facing lefties and righties. During the 2014 run, he recorded an out in every inning from the second through the 10th.
Together, the four were nearly unbeatable, and nobody knew that better than the other Giants who realized during a failed 2016 run that they might have taken the dominance for granted. That's a message Posey conveyed to Affeldt after he retired.
"When you guys came in, we just assumed the game was over," Posey told Affeldt.
"Buster had to manage -- I mean, he had me and Casilla, you've got to manage us," Affeldt said. "Romo struck everybody out, Javi was just like a professor, he just did his thing, but me and Casilla he was having to manage the game a little bit.
"But what Buster said, it was it. You knew that you four had it and you were protecting each other."
While Affeldt was easily the most vocal during his San Francisco years, he was the first to retire, and these days he lives near San Antonio, raising his boys and running a brewery.
Romo still lives in San Francisco, although it is Lopez who is most visible as a regular fill-in for Mike Krukow on the Giants broadcasts. Casilla, a native of the Dominican Republic, is less involved, but he returned to Oracle Park in 2022 for a 10-year reunion. He told his former manager that he could still give him two innings if he ever needed them.
On Saturday, they'll gather to go on the organization's Wall of Fame during a pregame ceremony. Naturally, they'll do it together.
"One of the things that I'm the most proud about in my career -- and I'll say this over and over and over again and I've said it before, too -- is being a part of their bullpen," Romo said on Giants Talk. "Those three guys are a big part of why I feel I was able to last as long and trick the league as long as I did."