Die-hard Giants fans entertain dreams of a championship

For San Francisco Giants fans, October is usually a time of disappointment and reflection at another baseball season gone wrong. Yet for some inexplicable reason, the same Giants team that has not been to the playoffs in seven years is now just four wins away from a trip to the World Series.

On Oct. 16, the Giants will play the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The winner of the best-of-seven match-up will win the coveted National League pennant, a title that the Phillies have captured for two straight years.

But even the most optimistic fans at MVHS are hesitant to celebrate just yet, because the Phillies, the defending National League champs, stand in in the way.

“I don’t want to get my hopes too high because [the Giants] might get crushed again,” junior Anirudh Kilambi said.

Kilambi has been a Giants supporter for nine years and like many of his peers, has suffered through the losing seasons of the franchise in the past five seasons. For him, the recent success of the Giants is both a source of relief and anxiety. With the disappointing finishes in recent history, the San Francisco Giants has become a team synonymous with failure and expectations are low.

“I plan for the worst,” Kilambi said when asked of his expectations for the series.

History teacher Viviana Montoya-Hernandez, a baseball fan her entire life, is also familiar with this sense of failure. She comes from a family of fiercely loyal Giants supporters and the team remains a huge part of her life. And she watched the Giants eagerly throughout the season, cringing at times.

“There is a reason why they say that this season has been torture for Giants fans,” Montoya-Hernandez said. “But it’s been really exciting to see them finally [make it to the NLCS].”

The pain that Giants fans have gone through in the past years was caused again this year by the inconsistency of the Giants’ season thus far.  For much of the season, the team was behind the hated San Diego Padres in the NL West Division. However, with dogged perseverance and a large dose of luck, the Giants were able to seize the division title in the last nail-biting series against their arch-rivals.

Much of the Giants’ hopes weigh on the lanky shoulders of Tim Lincecum, a legend in the making and a two-time NL Cy Young award winner. In the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Lincecum had one of the greatest performances in Giant playoff history, striking out 14 batters and allowing just two hits in nine innings.

“I expect the Giants to go deep [with Lincecum pitching his best],” junior Benjamin Gau said. “Maybe the World Series, but that might be a little tricky.”
 

In Game 4, the Giants will face the formidable batting lineup of the Phillies and pitcher Joe Blanton. The biggest question mark for the Giants is the ability of their own lineup to continue to produce hits against a tough pitching staff. The team’s combined batting average is only .212 in the playoffs.

“The game is all about psychology,” Montoya-Hernandez said. “Lincecum is doing well in this [playoff] atmosphere and all we need are some big hits from the batters.”

With everything to gain and nothing much to lose, the Giants go into Game 4 with one distinct advantage: they face very little pressure. They are the underdogs and the majority of experts have bet against their ability to win. It remains to be seen whether or not the usually underachieving franchise will finally deliver.

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