Sad to hear of the passing of Peter Magowan, the man who saved the Giants, at least for the city of San Francisco. It's amazing to me that people born after, oh, about 1985 or so which includes my 2 adult daughters, are blissfully unaware that once upon a time one of the richest, most stable franchises in Major League Baseball came this close to moving to St. Petersburg FL which would have been essentially the same as shipping them off to oblivion. I mean, make no mistake. If that happened, I would probably be Dodgers or more likely an Angels or Padres fan today. Yuck!
Fortunately, MLB had the sense to block the sale of the Giants to the Florida group and that's when Peter Magowan put together a group of very wealthy investors committed to keeping them in San Francisco. Magowan was a visionary who negotiated a then-record contract with free agent Barry Bonds and put the franchise on his back. Unlike many players who sign big, longterm free agent contracts, Barry performed up to every penny he was paid and way more. If you want to see an amazing stat line, go look up Barry Bonds from 1993, his first season in San Francisco, and he basically did that every single year for the next 12 seasons.
Back to Peter Magowan. Magowan also had a vision for bringing the Giants to downtown San Francisco and for privately financing the stadium, both ideas that were way ahead of their time. In the process, he built what might be the most perfect ballpark in baseball. PacBell/AT&T/Oracle Park is cozy yet spacious, classic yet quirky. It has one of the great views from almost any angle in all of sports. On top of all that, it's been wildly successful financially. Whatever you think of the current state of the Giants, make no mistake. They are in great shape for the foreseeable future. Peter Magowan deserves the biggest share of the credit for that.
What's interesting about Peter Magowan is while he was a visionary who took risks and made big investments, he also had a penurious side and insisted the Giants adhere to strict budgets. You have to wonder whether the Giants would have been quite so generous with their longterm contracts, even for their "homegrown" players, if Peter Magowan was still been running the team.
So, RIP Peter Magowan. I believe there should be a plaque in Cooperstown, NY with your name on it. Peter Magowan should go down in history as one of the greatest owners in MLB history.
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There was post in the r/baseball section of reddit of a letter Peter Magowan wrote to a fan in June of 1993, which was very...personal. Talking about the state and future of the team. They joy of recent success of the new ownership group saving the team for San Francisco. The happiness of being in first place. Might give you a nostalgic warm and fuzzy if you take a look.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/akii15/a_letter_to_my_dad_from_peter_magowan_former/
Also..."If that happened, I would probably be Dodgers or more likely an Angels or Padres fan today."
ReplyDeleteSay it ain't so Doc!
That's so refreshing.
ReplyDeleteIn most blogs for other teams, you read fans trashing their ownership for "getting rich on the backs of the players" but 1st staying in SF, 2nd getting Bonds, 3rd the "Park" and 4th the drafting from Cain through, well, Panik -- all a glorious memory for us.
Now, what will Zaidi do?
Or will he be remembered for fiddling while Rome burned?
Thanks Doc, thanks Peter, thanks Larry et al.
(Puts you in good company with the best blog ever!)
Thanks for the kind words.
DeleteI tip my cap to Mr Magowan. Footnote: The '93 team was a blast to follow. New heroes every day.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness Peter Magowan and his group saved the Giants from moving to Florida and was able to build such a beautiful ballpark. The home opener should be emotional honoring Mr. Magowan and Stretch McCovey.. RIP Peter Magowan and Stretch..
ReplyDelete