Thoughts on Brian Wilson

When Bruce Bochy's career is done, it may well be that looking back, he will say that the single best decision he ever made was to make Brian Wilson his closer.

Brian Wilson was drafted by the Giants in the 24'th round of 2003 draft out of LSU.  He was a starter in college with good, but not great, numbers.  He was a hard thrower with a terrific curveball.  He also underwent Tommy John surgery halfway through his junior year.  The Giants drafted him and he chose to sign rather than return for his senior year.

His first pro experience was a bit rocky for Low A Hagerstown in 2004 at age 22.  He went 2-5, 5.34, 57.1 IP, 22 BB, 41 K's.  But then, what do you expect from a 24'th round draft pick?  He was reassigned to Low A, now Augusta in 2005 where things went much better as he ran up a record of 5-1, 0.82, 33 IP, 30 K's, 7 BB and 13 Saves.  Giants prospect watchers started hearing anecdotal stories of him hitting 99 MPH on the radar guns.  He moved up to AA Norwich where he put up similar numbers and finished the season with Fresno.

He started out 2006 with AAA Fresno, but was called up mid-season amidst the Armando Benitez disaster and the general chaos of the end of Felipe Alou's tenure as Manager.  He promptly pulled an oblique muscle in his first MLB appearance and spent the next 6 weeks on the DL.  He came back to post a 5.52 ERA while finishing 9 games and posting 1 Save.

He started out 2007 back in Fresno where he posted a record of 1-2, 2.10, 34.1 IP, 24 BB, 37 K's with 11 Saves.  The ERA looked great, but you had to wonder about that K/BB.  2007 was also Bruce Bochy's first as Manager of the Giants and his first priority became to bring order to chaos in the bullpen.  Wilson got the callup mid-season again and in a short period of time, Bochy had installed him as the closer.  He finished the season at 1-2, 2.28, 23.2 IP, 7 BB, 18 K's, with 6 Saves.

By the start of the 2008 season, Bochy had his undisputed closer.  Wilson was a bit ragged with an ERA of 4.62, but Boch stuck with him and he rang up 41 Saves while serving as an anchor to the bullpen that allowed other roles to start falling into place.

The 2009 Giants were much better.  Cain was coming into his own and Timmy was winning the second of 2 Cy Young Awards.  A big part of what made that possible was the stabilization of the bullpen anchored by Brian Wilson.  He rang up another 38 Saves while posting an ERA of 2.74.  The 2009 Giants won 88 games.

Of course we all know about the 2010 season with Wilson turning in one of the great seasons a closer has ever had:  3-3, 1.81, 74.2 IP, 26 BB, 91 K's.  That success carried over through the postseason with Wilson recording the final out of the 2010 World Series striking out Ryan Howard in one of the iconic moments in Giants baseball history.

I will always believe that the single most important and best decision Bochy made to achieve that championship was his decisiveness in 2007 and 2008 to install and stick with Brian Wilson as his closer!

When Brian Wilson first came up, he kind of had a wild, crazed look in his eye at times.  I commented at the time that I thought it was a very good thing for hitter to think the closer is just a little bit crazy.  It keeps them from getting too comfortable up there at the plate, especially when he is throwing fastballs at 98 MPH and doesn't alway seem to be too sure about where they are going.  Despite this slightly crazy look in his eye, there was no indication of what was to come.

The first sign of the fun stuff came when he appeared in a game wearing bright orange cleats.  The opposing manager(I think it may have been Fredi Gonzalez of the Marlins, you might know) objected and the league fined him for wearing shoes that were not the predominant color of the team, which was deemed to be black.  Really?  So, what are all those Orange Fridays about?  Wilson responded by coloring in part of the shoes with a black Sharpie Pen and we were off on a Crazy Train.  Wilson went on ESPN with one of the strangest, most fun interviews in the history of baseball.  He talked about his "sweet cleats" and "too much awesome on my feet."  He talked of "Black Ops" and appeared to talk into a big old-fashioned cellphone.  All of a sudden, a large figure dressed in S&M gear appeared in the hallway behind him for just a second or two.  The ESPN host was flabbergasted and temporarily speechless.  Wilson calmly explained that it was "The Machine" and that "he doesn't say much."  It was all a wonderful distraction from the pressures of the pennant race and Giants fans, who are always ready to embrace the quirky, fell in love with the act.

Wilson and Sergio Romo had grown beards, which was no big deal, until one day Wilson showed up on the mound with his dyed jet black.  Whatheheck?  Wilson and Romo continued to let the beards grow and get more scraggly by the day.  Fear the Beard was born, and fake black beards started flying off the shelves at the Dugout Store and appearing in the stands by the 10's of thousands.  It was great theater, great entertainment and served as a critical rallying point as the Giants relentlessly pressed on to the first World Series Championship since their move to San Francisco.

He was still good in 2011, recording 36 Saves but his ERA was up to 3.11 and his velocity was down by 2-3 MPH.  Fans still loved the beard, but to some fans like me, the constant seeking of attention threatened to make Brian Wilson a parody of himself.

By the start of the 2012 season, it was obvious something really bad was wrong.  Wilson spent most of spring training pitching in minor league games. He made just 2 appearances in the regular season then shut it down and announced that he would need a second Tommy John surgery.  His contract was up at the end of the season and the Giants chose to not pick up an $8 M option.

Today, Brian Wilson's Giants career came to an apparent end as he signed a contract with the Dodgers, of all teams.  While I wish him the best of health, I do not wish him success in any way.  I hope he has the same kind of success as other former Giants Ned Colletti has signed, which is to say I wish for him to be a total bust!

Brian Wilson will eventually be regarded as a great Giant.  After all, even Juan Marichal finished his career with the Dodgers.  There will be time enough to bestow honors and appreciation after he officially retires from the game.  For now, he is just another Hated One.