There are not many athletes in the world that quietly dominate quite like San Francisco Giants’ legend Madison Bumgarner. While MadBum is now set to open a new chapter with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the lanky lefty is already forever immortalized in the Giants lore.
Bumgarner’s list of accolades is almost too long to rattle off, but it includes prestigious honours including three World Series titles in a span of five years – titles that he was a major part of. He won World Series MVP one of those years, and has also been named to four National League All-Star teams. He holds the Giants’ franchise record in strikeouts by a lefty.
Bumgarner has also gained a reputation at the plate, representing one of the only pitchers to not be considered a relatively easy out. In fact, Bumgarner is one of only three players to hit multiple home runs off of star pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Longtime sluggers Carlos Gonzalez and Joey Votto are the others.
Needless to say, it was a tough day in San Fran when the franchise had to say goodbye to one of their all-time greats. In response to the signing, the Giants released a touching video reflecting on some of the incredible moments in MadBum’s incredible tenure with the team.
Bumgarner is just 30 years old, so it’s possible he’s still got a lot of baseball to come through his vaunted left arm. Saying that, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a tenure more successful than his with the Giants.
That’s a special kind of relationship that will always be important to Bumgarner and the Giants’ faithful.
(H/T San Francisco Giants)
