There is a list — a short list — of San Francisco Giants postseason legends.
This particular list doesn't include Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum and all of the perennial household names in San Francisco.
No, this is a list of Giants who were virtually nameless until a dose of 'even year' magic shoved them into San Francisco Giants lore forever. These select few cashed in when no one expected them to — when the lights were brightest — and will never be forgotten.
Conor Gillaspie just joined that list.
SEE ALSO:The San Francisco Giants just aren't weird enough to win the World Series this even yearIn the ninth inning of Wednesday night's one-game wild card playoff, Gillaspie knocked one over the right field fence, breaking a scoreless tie, giving the Giants a 3-0 lead and essentially punching their ticket to the National League Division Series.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I had words to describe that moment,” Gillaspie told reporters after the game. “Absolutely incredible, I guess, is the best that I can do."
Because of Gillaspie, who was cut by the Angels exactly a year ago, the Giants will live to see at least three more games.
World, meet Conor Gillaspie.
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2016
He just set up a @SFGiants-@Cubs #NLDS. https://t.co/Q4F1uxVpqA #WildCard pic.twitter.com/wcGDJ0VNnc
Before Wednesday, Gillaspie was a player vaguely familiar (at best) to Giants fans, but he just reached "legend" status. And his path to this moment is even more remarkable.
The third baseman was drafted by the Giants in 2008, the 37th overall pick. He bounced around the organization for a few years before getting traded to the White Sox, where he earned a starting job for two years. He struggled in 2015, and was traded for pocket change to the Angels, who released him a few weeks later.
In February 2016, the Giants took another chance on Gillaspie.
It paid off, in weird, serendipitous form, no less.
When Giants starting third baseman Eduardo Nunez went down with a hamstring injury on Sept. 25, Gillaspie filled in and never looked back. He finished the regular season hitting .500 with four runs and five RBI in five games. Gillaspie's performance was not only impressive, it was essentialto the Giants even making the postseason. Their playoff fate hung in the balance until the season's final day, when Gillaspie made this incredible catch.
Credit: MLB.comHe didn't have a job a year ago. Now, he's a Giants hero.
But somehow, there's a precedent that goes along with all this. What Giants fans call "even year magic" works in mysterious ways. It's part superstition, part fact, part undeniable truth. And it just got confirmed for the fourth consecutive even year.
San Francisco's postseason teams in 2010, 2012, 2014, and now 2016, are all characterized by clutch performances from relatively unknown players.
Just ask Cody Ross.
The Giants acquired him in 2010 only to prevent him from going to the Padres. The Giants started him in right field in the playoffs because their usual right fielder was caught with human growth hormones. Ross wasn't a big name to Giants fans. That is, until he hit two home runs off Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in the 2010 National League Championship Series, leaving fans both ecstatic and dumfounded.
Now, he's on the list.
Cody Ross hit a home run in the third inning of Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS.Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty ImagesJust ask Travis Ishikawa.
Drafted by the Giants, he played for five other teams between 2012 and 2014, when the Giants decided to take another chance on him. Six months later, he hit the walk-off home run that sent the Giants to the 2014 World Series.
Credit: MLBHe didn't have a job. Now he's a Giants hero, and he's most definitely on the list.
Sound familiar?
There are a couple others, Marco Scutaro and Michael Morse, whose postseason heroics came out of nowhere in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and thrust them into San Francisco baseball history.
The Giants are a team that defies all odds and predictions when it comes to October, at least during even years in this decade. They're a team filled with the most improbable stories and the most unlikely stars.
By that measure, it's no surprise Conor Gillaspie is 2016's installment of the list.
He is the pure essence of the unsung Giants hero, the embodiment of even year magic, when nameless players with whirlwind careers find themselves on the biggest stages.
That stage gets arguably bigger on Friday, when San Francisco faces off against the Chicago Cubs, baseball's best regular season team.
If "even year magic" has anything to say about it, Gillaspie's story is far from over.
(责任编辑：娛樂)
Slack goes down again, prompting anxiety everywhere
I'm playing video games like a caveman during the pandemic. It rules.
Parrot launches $7,000 drone for thermal surveillance, searchParrot launches $7,000 drone for thermal surveillance, search
This chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jumpMichael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold
Michael Phelps left as he began: Winning. 。The most decorated athlete in Olympic history won gold in
...[详细]
Apple devices will soon be a little easier to afford.They’re not getting cheaper exactly but,A
...[详细]It's OK to post on social media even though you haven't replied to texts
I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's perfectly OK for someone to post on social media even
...[详细]'The Simpsons' came eerily close to predicting the coronavirus and murder hornets
Just add coronavirus and murder hornets to the long list of things The Simpsons predicted.OK, so lik
...[详细]Researchers create temporary tattoos you can use to control your devices
In the future, your tattoos could be much more than just ink designs. 。Scientists have created a new
...[详细]Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell sparkle in 'Eurovision Song Contest'
In case you couldn't guess from that unwieldy mouthful of a title, Eurovision Song Contest: The Stor
...[详细]'The Hobbit' is getting a new audio book edition read by Andy Serkis
As if we needed an excuse to dive back into J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, a new audiobook version of
...[详细]2021 Oscars pushed back due to coronavirus
More changes are coming to next year's Academy Awards.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science
...[详细]
The group behind a growing list of celebrity social media breaches has struck again, this time takin
...[详细]Everyone's dreaming of walking down the aisle after quarantine in this meme
People can't wait to walk down the aisle, thanks to this post-quarantine meme. But it's not the aisl
...[详细]