SAN FRANCISCO — Often the anonymous infantrymen of baseball’s pitching staffs, relievers finally got some recognition Saturday at Oracle Park.
The “Core Four” of the Giants’ dynastic 2010s bullpen became the latest inductees to the team’s Wall of Fame, as Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo had their plaques unveiled in a pregame ceremony before the Giants hosted the Minnesota Twins.
“It is a very fail-forward position to have in baseball, so you are often the one blamed,” said López, now a broadcaster for the club. “What I take away from this is being able to be with this band of brothers for so long is something that’s just so rare, at any point in time.”
With a cast of characters from the Giants’ World Series-winning clubs sitting behind them on the infield, Ryan Vogelsong and Buster Posey delivered remarks before CEO Larry Baer directed attention to the video board, where the 57th, 58th, 59th and 60th plaques on King Street were unrobed.
“The word that kept coming to mind was durability,” Posey said, reciting each reliever’s career games and innings. “You can’t overstate how important that is to a pitching staff to have the luxury of these four guys you can put in the game at any time.”
In the most cyclical role in the sport, it was their staying power — and, with it, three World Series championships — that endeared them to the Giants fanbase.
Romo’s 515 games with the Giants are the third-most of any pitcher since the team moved to San Francisco; López ranks sixth with 446; Casilla and Affeldt aren’t far behind, with 414 apiece. But it is their 98 combined postseason appearances from 2010 to 2014 that secured their place in team history.
In 78⅔ postseason innings, the beloved bullpen quartet boasted a combined ERA of 1.14, recording eight saves and going 7-1 in decisions.
Introduced by Dave Flemming, the foursome took a familiar path to the infield, through the bullpen gates, while AC/DC’s “Back in Black” played over the loudspeakers. Never one to shy away from from making a statement, Romo sported a T-shirt that read, “Do I look illegal?” and flashed World Series rings on two of his fingers.
It was Romo’s 89 mph fastball that got Miguel Cabrera looking that sealed their 2014 championship.
“Talk about shaking somebody off,” Posey said. “I still have nightmares sometimes when he shook away and decided he was going to blow 75 past Miguel Cabrera.”
Casilla was the ultimate culprit, though, providing Posey some of the biggest laughs of the afternoon.
“When I think about Casilla I think about putting the sign down, getting shaken seven times, then agreeing to the first pitch I originally called,” Posey said, “which was a sinker.”
Baer described the loquacious López as the “bullpen psychologist,” a phrase Romo later endorsed.
“I feel like I was a good sounding board not just for players, but also for coaches,” López said. “Just being there for a lot of the guys, I feel like that’s what worked. I would give, I guess, observations and maybe some guidance in certain spots but a lot of times I would just listen and try to find where they were coming from.”
The space in the clubhouse López and Affeldt turned into a philosopher’s corner is now occupied by the Rogers twins, who along with Camilo Doval and Randy Rodríguez caught the ceremonial first pitches from each of the Wall of Fame inductees.
Many of the Giants relievers watched the ceremony from the dugout, including Tyler Rogers, who draped his arms over the dugout rail.
“I couldn’t pick two better guys to be in that spot (in the clubhouse),” Lòpez said. “I love their personality. I love their ability to communicate. And I love that win, lose or draw, you’re going to get the same guy every time, both of them.”
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In order to bestow the honors on the relievers, the Giants had to make an exception. The organization’s qualifications to be considered for its Wall of Fame were a minimum of nine years with the club or five seasons with an All-Star appearance, demands few relief pitchers in the modern game could ever meet.
“Because,” Baer said, “three World Series championships in five years demands an exemption.”
With Giants alumni seated on one side, the inductees’ family members flanked the stage to the other side, and when the festivities were over and it was time to play ball, it was the kids of all four bullpen members who delivered the ceremonial pronouncement over the public address system.
“This is proof; it’s validation that everything happened,” Romo said. “It’s not a dream. I can literally go to a big-league stadium and see my smile on the side of a big-league stadium.”
