Giants no strangers to World Series, except for vets Hudson, Morse
KANSAS CITY − With three trips to the World Series in the past five seasons, the Giants have no shortage of experience in the Fall Classic.
Yet it's the players who have never been here that might be serving as the team's biggest inspiration.
San Francisco's roster includes seven players who helped the Giants to titles in both 2010 and '12, a core group with names such as Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Madison Bumgarner. But some key players such as Tim Hudson, Michael Morse and rookie Joe Panik will be experiencing the World Series for the first time, making what could be viewed as a routine visit feel much fresher.
'For me, it's great to be here, but I take more joy out of seeing those guys getting here,' manager Bruce Bochy said. 'The Hudsons and Morses, the guys who have not been here, that was part of our motivation when this whole thing started. Let's find a way to give them a chance and get them to the World Series.'
Hudson had played 15 seasons in the majors before finally getting to this point, reaching the postseason six times with the A's and Braves without getting beyond the first round.
Several Giants players noted the raw emotion the 39-year-old Hudson displayed when they wrapped up the National League pennant last Thursday, not that they needed to see that to know how much this meant to the righthander.
'Seeing Huddy's reaction after we clinched at home was priceless,' Posey said. 'That's one of those memories you'll always have.'
'When we clinched the pennant, I was beside myself; I had emotions going through my body that I never knew could happen,' Hudson said. 'To see all the guys, see how happy they were for me and for some of these young guys, you could tell they enjoyed that. They enjoyed helping us accomplish something that we hadn't accomplished yet in our career.'
When Hudson played for Oakland in the early 2000s, many believed the A's would be the team to dethrone the Yankees. They never got past the ALDS, falling to the Bombers twice, the Twins and the Red Sox between 2000-03.
'Early in my career, I thought I would be here well before now, there's no question about it,' Hudson said. 'As your career creeps along and you're not able to get to this big dance, you realize how hard it is. I've told some of these young guys that are rookies on this club to soak it all in because you never know when you're going to be back.'
Only two members of the Royals ALCS roster have played in a World Series (James Shields, Omar Infante), and neither has won.
In addition to the seven Giants who played for both title teams, San Francisco's NLCS roster included nine other players who have been to the World Series, eight of them with the Giants.
'I won't say it would get monotonous to come here with the same guys every year, but it could be,' said Tim Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young winner who has yet to appear in a game this postseason. 'It's nice to freshen it up with some new personalities, some new faces, some guys that are so excited to be here.'
'The last time I was in the World Series, I thought to myself, 'This is so hard; I don't know if we'll ever have this opportunity again,'' said first baseman Brandon Belt, a member of the 2012 champs. 'It's pretty special to be back.'
A win would make the Giants the first team since Joe Torre's Yankees to win three championships in a five-year span, though they have done it with a different cast each time. That's what makes this so sweet for Bochy, who hopes to join John McGraw and Walter Alston as the only managers to win three World Series in the NL.
'You understand how difficult this is,' Bochy said. 'I was amazed at the Yankees on what they accomplished. It's not that easy. First of all, you've got to get there. It's very satisfying when you get in a situation where you have a chance. That's all we wanted at each stage, is just a chance to get to this stage.'
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